Ecommerce platforms rely on sales to survive. If you operate one of these websites, you know how important sales are for your business.
Whether you sell products exclusively online or have an ecommerce site in addition to your brick and mortar store, you need high conversion rates to be successful.
What do you do when your sales plateau and your conversions drop?
You need to analyze your website. What you’ve been doing in the past may have worked, but it’s imperative for you to constantly optimize and improve your ecommerce store.
After reviewing your site, you might realize certain elements are killing your conversions.
Fortunately, you’re in luck. If you want to improve your conversion rates and generate more sales, all you need to do is make some changes.
Through research and my personal experience consulting businesses, I’ve identified and outlined the top ways to increase ecommerce conversions.
Here’s what you need to do.
1. SIMPLIFY YOUR WEBSITE
Websites with simple designs have higher conversion rates.
Depending on your company, you might have hundreds or even thousands of products for sale on your website. But trying to cram all of those products onto one page is ineffective, and it’s crushing your conversions.
Clutter overwhelms the customers. Instead, focus on your top selling products or items with the highest profit margins.
Let’s look at a globally recognized brand as an example. Here’s Apple's homepage:
When in doubt, it’s always a great idea to look at successful companies as examples. Apple is an industry leader, and their website is about as simple as it gets.
Think about the number of different products they offer. They have all kinds of different desktop computers, laptops, phones, and other electric accessories, not to mention the digital products like software and music.
If they tried to fit everything they sell on their homepage, it would be an absolute mess.
Instead, they promote one product and have a navigation bar at the top of the screen that lists different categories.
This makes it really easy for shoppers to find exactly what they’re looking for.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, Apple reported $52.6 billion in revenue— a 12% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. It’s safe to say they don't have a problem with conversion rates.
2. USE HIGH QUALITY IMAGES
One of the most difficult parts of online shopping is the lack of direct access to the products shoppers consider buying. They rely on photos to get an accurate idea of their options.
It’s up to you to make sure you have lots of high quality pictures for every product.
You should have a photograph from every angle. Zoom in on features. Have pictures of models using or wearing what you’re selling.
This will make it much easier for shoppers to make a decision.
Here’s a great example of what I’m talking about from the Nike website:
They’ve got six different pictures of just one white hoodie. If you click on the other colors for this product, you’ll see even more photos.
I realize this takes time. It’s not necessarily the easiest process to take half a dozen photos of everything you’re selling.
But in the long run, it’s well worth it. Now shoppers know exactly what this product looks like from every angle. They’re more likely to buy it if it fits their needs.
3. INCLUDE A DETAILED PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
In addition to photos, you’ll want to thoroughly describe what you’re selling. With items like clothing, it’s usually self-explanatory.
However, if you’re selling electronics or something that has a bit of a learning curve, an accurate and detailed product description could help you close the sale.
Think of it like this. If a customer were to walk into a physical store, there would be employees to answer questions and help explain how different products work.
Shoppers don’t have that luxury when they browse online. It's your job to make sure they aren’t confused about a product.
Even if you’re selling something simple, such as a t-shirt, point out how it differs from others. Does it keep you cool when it’s hot? Does it keep you warm when it’s cold?
These are things that can’t be determined from a photo alone.
Check out how Amazon accomplishes this with one of their TV wall mounts:
Just like companies in our previous two examples, Amazon is another industry leader across the globe. They know how to sell products online.
While the photos are helpful, the description really helps the consumers.
It explains which kinds of TVs this mount is compatible with as far as size and weight are concerned. The description also covers the various mounting patterns based on what kind of TV you have.
Without the description, you wouldn’t know how far off the wall the mount comes or how close to the wall you can push it.
Not everyone is an expert in mounting televisions. The majority of people probably never have to do this. And unless you install home theater equipment for a living, it’s probably not something you’ll do more than a few times in your life.
For a unique and somewhat niche product like this, accurate descriptions can really help drive the sale.
4. SHOW VIDEO DEMONSTRATIONS
This element takes our last point a step further. Instead of telling the consumer what your product does and how it works, show them.
If you haven’t been using video content to increase sales, you need to start right away.
Why?
Well, for starters, 64% of people are more likely to complete an online purchase after watching a video about a product. Furthermore, 90% of consumers say that videos help them make a buying decision.
Consumers want videos, so give them what they want. Thule recognizes this. That’s why they include videos with all their products on their website.
The video is super helpful. It gives the consumer way more information than they could get from just a photo and a description.
In this example, the customers learn how to properly fold and assemble the stroller for transportation and easy storage. The video also shows how to safely secure a child in the seat.
It’s an effective way to give your website visitors a more accurate description of the product. They can see it being used instead of just reading about it and looking at pictures.
5. OFFER EASILY ACCESSIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
As I briefly mentioned earlier, there’s nobody there to assist the consumer when they’re shopping online, unlike in a physical store.
Do your best to replicate that customer service experience. You may have photos, videos, and a great description, but customers will still have questions.
Make sure you give them several options to reach a customer service representative:
* phone
* live chat
* email
Offer as many options as possible so each customer can contact your company based on their personal preference.
You also need to have support ready at all hours. As an ecommerce platform, I know you’re aware that customers all over the world have access to your website 24 hours a day.
Let’s play out a scenario. A customer is interested in one of your products but has a few simple questions. They try to contact customer support but don’t get an answer.
They won't complete the purchase process. But if their questions get answered right away, your conversion rates will improve.
6. DON’T SURPRISE YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH EXTRA FEES
Consumers are sensitive to price. You have to be upfront and totally transparent with the prices on your website.
The customer expects to see the same price for the same product on all pages, including in their shopping cart.
Adding hidden charges, taxes, and shipping fees will crush your conversions.
Look at the top reasons for shopping cart abandonment:
Extra costs are the number one reason why consumers abandon their shopping carts.
Look, I realize you’ve got to pay sales tax and shipping isn’t free. But rather than surprising the customer when they check out, include those costs in the original price.
You’ll still get paid enough to make a profit, and the customer won’t be surprised with extra fees. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone.
Plus, it will reduce cart abandonment and improve your conversion rates.
7. SEND SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT EMAILS
Let’s continue with our last point. While you can certainly do things to improve your shopping cart abandonment rates, some customers still won’t always complete their purchases.
You can’t ignore this.
Someone was just a click or two away from buying something on your website. They identified what they wanted and added it to their cart.
It’s going to be much easier to try to get this customer to convert than to find a new customer.
This person is already familiar with your brand and obviously interested in at least one of your products. Sometimes they just need a bit of extra motivation to complete the sale.
Send out a shopping cart abandonment email to remind the consumer of your products. Here’s an example from Oakley:
This product will still be fresh in the customer’s mind—they just left it in their shopping cart. They wanted it, but for one reason or another, it just didn’t happen.
Receiving this email could be enough to trigger an impulse buy.
8. INCLUDE ALL YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION
On top of providing customer service, you should have as much information as possible about your company available on your website.
Clearly display your:
* address
* phone numbers
* fax
* email
If this information isn’t on your site, it could appear sketchy. Customers may think you’re not a reputable company.
What if they have a problem with their order? If your contact information isn’t available, how will they get their issue resolved?
That uncertainty could prevent people from buying things on your website.
9. RUN PROMOTIONS
As I said earlier when talking about extra fees and costs, consumers are price-sensitive. It’s important to be aware of this.
One way to get people to convert more on your ecommerce site is by running promotions. Offer sales, discounts, or other special offers that sound enticing.
It just needs to be worth it. For example, if you’re offering a 5% discount on orders over $200, it’s not going to make anybody rush to make a purchase.
But on the other hand, if you’re offering 25% off everything on your website, it will boost your conversions.
Just make sure you have all your numbers worked out. You don’t want to slash prices so low that you’re not turning a profit with each sale.
The best way to go about this is by jacking up your prices initially, then constantly running sales.
Check out all of these different promotions on the Macy's website:
They have some discounts as high as 50% off. This is a great way to drive sales.
Just make sure you’re careful with this strategy. Once you start offering discounts and promotions, customers may be less likely to buy things at full price. They’ll just wait until the next time you run a sale.
If you’re going to incorporate discounts, markdowns, and other promotional offers into your ecommerce marketing campaign, be prepared to do it often.
10. ACCEPT AS MANY PAYMENT OPTIONS AS POSSIBLE
I realize some credit card companies charge you higher fees than others. But that’s no reason to exclude those payment options from your website.
You can’t assume every customer visiting your website has a Visa card. You need to accept all major credit cards, including Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.
Even if they have a card you accept, it doesn’t mean they want to use it. They might have better benefits or a lower balance on a different card.
You should also take alternative forms of payment, such as PayPal, Venmo, or Apple Pay.
Offering more options increases the chances of the customer being able to pay with their preferred card or method.
It’s also important that the checkout process is completely secure. That way your customers feel safe about entering their credit card information.
11. RECOMMEND PRODUCTS TO ENHANCE THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
If your site is using cookies to track browsing behavior, you can recommend products to your customers based on what they like. Use their previous order history as well to personalize recommendations.
This shows the consumer you care. Their browsing experience is different from everyone else’s.
Here’s an example from Bed Bath & Beyond:
You can also try to upsell to your customers when they add something to their shopping carts. For example, if they buy a pair of headphones, you can recommend a carrying case for them.
Again, it reflects their personal experience. This strategy works.
Research shows that 49% of consumers said they bought something they weren’t initially planning on purchasing after seeing a personalized recommendation.
CONCLUSION
Whether your business is brand new or has been around for a while, there is always room for improvement.
You can make simple modifications to your ecommerce website to get more conversions.
These 11 tips are the best place for you to start. Refer back to the examples and the data I showed you for guidance.
I’m not saying you need to implement all of these strategies overnight. In fact, you may even have a couple of these in place already.
But over time, you need to optimize your ecommerce website if you want to get as many sales as possible.
Follow these tips, and I’m sure you’ll see an improvement.
_What elements of your ecommerce website have you changed to increase your conversion rates?_

By now I’m sure you realize how important Instagram is for your business.
Every day your audience gets bombarded with many different pictures and videos showing up on their timelines. That’s why I’ve told you in the past that you need to write captions that drive engagement.
But nobody will read your captions if the image doesn’t capture their attention. They’ll just keep mindlessly scrolling past your post.
I’ve seen some companies hire experts in photography to help them put out better Instagram posts.
While I can applaud the effort, I also think it’s a complete waste of money. You can take your own photos without hiring a professional.
Now you can use that extra cash and apply it to other aspects of your business to focus on the newest marketing trends.
Instagram has tools allowing you to edit your photos and videos directly on their platform. Those might be okay for the average person, but your business should avoid them.
Why?
It’s all about standing out from the crowd.
All of the 800 million monthly active Instagram users have access to those editing tools. If you’re using them too, your posts will look like everyone else’s.
There are other apps available that can help make your photos stand out. But there are thousands of them out there, so it’s tough to figure out which ones are most useful.
That’s why I’ve taken the time to share with you the best 15 apps for photo and video editing. These will help you take your Instagram posts to the next level.
I’ll go through all of my favorites and show you some of the key features of each one.
1. AFTERLIGHT 2
If you’re looking for unique filters, Afterlight 2 has a huge collection of old school and vintage ones available. These are definitely an upgrade from filters that come standard with Instagram.
They also have some really cool effects and designs that allow you to add text and other typography to your images:
You can even put part of your text behind elements within your photo. This feature is perfect for businesses.
Now you can capture the attention of your followers by layering a catchy headline directly over your image as opposed to just writing a caption. This is a great opportunity for you to do something like:
* advertise a sale
* promote a new product
* build hype for an event
* run a contest
* get more followers
* draw attention to a link in your bio
You can download Afterlight 2 for $2.99, and that’s all you’ll ever pay for this app. They don’t have any other in-app upgrades or additional charges to access their best features.
2. SNAPSEED
Snapseed takes your editing effects to a whole new level. You can apply effects and filters to specific areas of your image with high precision:
They’ve got a really cool editing feature called a perspective tool. This helps you automatically adjust or correct any skewed lines in your images.
Let’s face it, a picture taken by hand won't be 100% perfect. You might think your horizon is level or buildings are lined up properly, but that’s rarely the case.
That’s when the perspective tool can make your photos look professional.
What’s the best part about Snapseed? It’s free. It’s definitely worth checking out since there’s no risk involved.
3. AVIARY PHOTO EDITOR
Aviary Photo Editor is an Adobe product. If you’ve used Adobe software and were happy with the experience, you should give this Photo Editor a try:
The editing tools on Aviary allow you to saturate colors within your photos as well as soften or sharpen areas for an effect.
Aviary also has a large collection of frames, stickers, and other overlays to embellish your images. You can even hand-draw captions across the pictures.
I like to use Aviary because of the features allowing me to fine-tune my images. With just a couple of clicks, you can eliminate blemishes or brighten shadows to make your images more lively.
Aviary saves your images to the cloud. If you have an Adobe ID, you can access your images from anywhere and edit them from any device.
This feature comes in handy if you’re taking and editing images as a team. Everything can be stored in one place.
4. VINTAGIO
For those of you who want to add a vintage feel to your videos, Vintagio has what you need, as the name suggests.
If you’ve got a fashion company or ecommerce store that sells clothing, this app can be useful for promoting products from bygone eras.
If you want your video to appear to be from a certain time period, their video filters can match the style of that time. That way, it’s clear to your audience that the setting of your video is not supposed to be the present day.
You can also trim and piece together different video clips with this app.
And you can change the video quality of your clips if you want to create something that looks like it's from the 1950s.
Vintagio has great soundtracks from different eras as well. You can adjust the speed and timing and add other effects to your clips too.
Combining all these elements together will help you make a unique Instagram video.
5. AVERAGE CAMERA PRO
The name says it all. Average Camera Pro was created to help regular people edit photos like professionals.
Unlike other apps that just edit photos, Average Camera Pro has a built-in camera function. You can use it to take multiple pictures at the same time or set a timer for the photos.
You'd find these tools on high-quality and expensive cameras. But you can have them on your phone for just $0.99.
This camera function works best if you want to take pictures in low-light settings. Since you’re increasing the exposure time, you’ll get brighter pictures that would normally appear dark on a regular phone camera.
Sometimes when you try to brighten a really dark photo, the editing looks obvious in your final image.
But you won’t have to worry about that if you take the pictures with Average Camera Pro.
6. TILTSHIFT
TiltShift is great for bringing focus to a specific area of an outdoor scene. So if you’ve got a business with a physical storefront, you can use this app to bring your location to life.
The effect makes your image appear as if it’s a miniature. Instagram has a tilt-shift feature built into their editing tools, but this one is far more advanced.
If you take lots of landscapes or other outdoor photos, this app is worth getting for just $1.99.
7. SUPERIMPOSE
Do you want to change the background of a picture you took? Instagram doesn’t have any tools for that, so you’ll need to get the Superimpose app.
Superimpose lets you remove the background from an image.
Then, you can combine it with another picture. This is awesome from an advertising perspective.
Want to take an exotic beach photo without leaving your office?
No problem.
Check out these creative images above. Superimpose allows you to blend images together or even change an image into something unrealistic, such as a fish with the head of a chicken.
Using Superimpose as part of your arsenal of photo editing tools will make your brand stand out on Instagram. You can create images that are fun, exciting, and imaginative.
Plus, their software creates a smooth final product that’s believable. Your pictures won’t have that unprofessional crop and paste feel to them.
It’s only $1.99 to download. In no time at all, you’ll be uploading new photos to Instagram that will get your followers talking.
8. 8MM VINTAGE CAMERA
The 8mm Vintage Camera is great for shooting and editing longer videos. Now that Instagram lets you upload videos that are up to a minute long, this app is perfect for you.
You can get really cool video effects such as:
* light leaks
* scratches
* flames flickering
* dust
All of these can make your videos feel more authentic.
8mm Vintage Camera was even used in the filming of an Oscar-nominated movie.
If a professional director can use this app to get on the red carpet, you can certainly use it to edit your Instagram videos. It’s available for download for just $1.99 with some additional premium themes available as in-app purchases.
9. CROSSPROCESS
If you love adding filters to your photos but are sick and tired of using the same ones, it’s time for an upgrade. CrossProcess has over 70 filters.
I’ve seen many businesses on Instagram using the same one or two filters over and over again.
It’s boring.
Your followers will realize pretty quickly you’re not being very original. Once this happens, they may start ignoring your posts. Or even worse, they could unfollow you.
If they aren’t following you, you won’t be able to keep them informed of other promotional information that drives engagement and gets conversions.
You can prevent this from happening by simply spicing up your photos with new filters available from CrossProcess.
10. PICFRAME
Instagram allows you to upload multiple photos to one post. The only problem is you have to rely on your followers to scroll through each one.
This is not always the case.
If you want to combine multiple photos into one image, you can do it by creating a collage with PicFrame:
One of the coolest parts of this app is you can apply different filters and effects to each image within your collage as opposed to having one tone across the entire picture. That way, they can all be unique and stand out from each other.
You can also adjust the color and design patterns of your frames with this app.
If you really want to enhance your collage, PicFrame has lots of bonus features like stickers, shapes, text, and even music.
I think it’s worth the $2.99 price tag.
11. FACETUNE 2
If the majority of your Instagram photos contain people as opposed to just products or landscapes, you need to consider Facetune 2.
Nobody is perfect. Sometimes, we get blemishes, breakouts, or acne. After a long night of tossing and turning, everyone gets bags under their eyes.
But these imperfections shouldn’t discourage you from posing for a photo.
This app can make photos of people more flattering. Sometimes, all it takes is a slight adjustment to the lighting.
Facetune 2 also has specific filters designed for selfies. Sometimes the front-facing camera on our phones doesn’t take the best pictures, so just apply one of the filters to make up for it.
With a few easy steps, you can easily:
* whiten teeth
* change eye color
* remove wrinkles
* eliminate shine on oily skin
* make dull skin appear vibrant
The Facetune 2 app is completely free, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t at least try it.
12. TINY PLANET PHOTOS AND VIDEO
Tiny Planet lets you take images and videos with a fisheye lens effect.
This effect creates the appearance of a “tiny planet”--hence, the name.
Have you checked Instagram today? How many photos have you seen so far that look like this?
I’m willing to bet you haven’t seen any. I know I haven’t.
Get this app if you want to create images that are fun. The circular and warped photos this app creates can also be used as background images on phones, computers, or other devices.
You can suggest that to your followers.
13. QUICK
Quick has really cool fonts that you can add to your photos.
They simplified the photo editing process with this app. Quick advertises that it’s designed to be used with “just a thumb.” So you won’t need to get on your computer or do anything too fancy to get great photos.
You can send your edited image straight to Instagram or other social media platforms directly from the app.
As you can see from the example above, their text overlay features are great for captioning a photo or listing a price for something on your ecommerce store.
14. DXP FREE
The whole purpose of the DXP FREE app is to create multiple exposures on one image.
As a result, your pictures will stand out. Check out these examples:
Instagram doesn't offer such tools.
This app does require a little bit of patience and precision. You’ll need to understand the concepts of blending, or you might get a bit frustrated when you’re trying to edit.
But like with anything else, the more you use it, the easier it'll get. Just as the name says, it’s free to download.
15. TANGENT
Tangent lets you add patterns, textures, and geometric shapes to your images.
It’s another way to let your creative juices flow.
It also has some features that allow you to add framing overlays to your photos.
Tangent gives you an opportunity to express yourself. If your company has an audience that recognizes art and creativity, you’ll definitely want to use Tangent to impress your Instagram followers.
CONCLUSION
To captivate your Instagram followers, you’ll need to make sure your photos and videos are edited properly. That doesn’t mean you have to hire a professional editor.
There are plenty of apps available that are really easy for anyone to use. Lots of these are free of charge or only cost a couple of dollars, so they are worth a try.
Everyone with an Instagram account has access to the same filters and editing tools.
Editing your photos with another app can separate your pictures from the crowd. If you’re not sure where to find the best apps, refer to this list as a guideline.
All of these apps are unique and offer different features depending on what you’re looking for, such as collages, text overlays, face touch-ups, or vintage themes.
_What types of camera effects do you like to use when you’re editing photos and videos on Instagram?_

Do your conversion rates need a boost?
Nobody has a conversion rate that’s 100%. I think it’s safe to say that no matter how successful your company is, your conversions can always be improved.
Recognizing this is half the battle, but you’ll need to actually implement some changes if you want to see an increase. Just hoping for more conversions isn’t going to cut it.
Here’s another mistake I see businesses make. They confuse a conversion problem with a traffic problem.
Sure, driving more traffic to your website is great. I encourage you to do this. You may get more sales, but it won’t necessarily change your conversion rate.
Ecommerce websites need to focus on their website layouts. I’ve told you before that websites with simple designs have higher conversion rates.
But you’ve also got to simplify your checkout process.
If you analyze each phase of this process, you may find certain elements that are actually driving customers away.
Fortunately, I’ve helped businesses with this problem before. I want to share some of my most successful strategies with you.
Here’s how you need to approach your checkout process to maximize conversions.
TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT RATES
Over 69% of shopping carts get abandoned. That number is astonishingly high.
According to Statista, these are the top reasons why consumers abandon carts:
Take a look at these figures and see if your existing checkout process has any of these hindering components. Are you encouraging customers to just browse?
It’s clear based on this data that lots of customers may add something to their shopping carts without any intention of buying anything. I know I’m guilty of this myself as well.
You need to find ways to convert these window shoppers into customers. I recommend trying to tastefully implement scarcity tactics:
* create a sense of urgency
* use FOMO (fear of missing out)
* run promotions with short deadlines
* add popups with promotional offers
These tips will help you reduce abandonment rates and get more conversions.
Shopping cart abandonment is an epidemic that needs to be addressed. You can send your customers an email reminding them they forgot something in their carts as part of fixing the problem.
But looking at your shopping cart abandonment rate is only the first step of optimizing your checkout process.
You should be constantly tracking this number to see whether the changes you’re implementing are making a difference. Keep referring back to it as you go through this guide.
ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY STEPS
If your checkout process is long and complicated, it’ll have a negative impact on your conversion rates. Make sure you’re only getting information that’s required to complete the sale.
Consumers are busy. The more steps you make them go through to buy something, the more time they have to realize they really don’t want it.
But if you can simplify your checkout procedure down to a few steps, the customer won’t have time to second-guess their decision.
That’s why the number of form fields should be as low as possible.
As you can see from the graph above, the fewer form fields, the higher checkout performance and usability. As a result, your checkout process will have better conversion rates.
But look at how quickly those numbers drop when the form fields become too long. Those yield a poor UX performance, which can negatively impact conversions.
Ask yourself this question:

_What information do I really need to complete this sale?_

* customer’s name
* shipping address
* email address (to send confirmation)
* billing information
That’s really it. You don’t need to find out their favorite hobby or their mother’s maiden name.
Just stick with the bare minimum, and you’ll see your conversion rates rise.
ENCOURAGE CUSTOMER PROFILES, BUT DON’T FORCE IT
Some ecommerce websites force customers to create profiles before they can buy something. While I can see the reasoning behind this strategy, it’s killing your conversions.
Look, I get it. From a marketing perspective, you want as much information about your customers as possible.
Once they create an account, you’ll have their name, location, and email address to which you can send more promotional info.
That’s all great. But if you had to choose, wouldn’t you rather have their money?
Not everyone wants a customer profile.
Over 48% of online retailers said a guest checkout was the most important factor to increasing shopping cart conversion rates on their websites.
This was the second highest response on the list, trailing only behind free shipping.
Profile creation piggybacks on our last point as well. You want the process to be as quick and simple as possible. Going through a long process will turn customers away.
But you can encourage your customers to create a profile in other, subtle, ways. For example, your “create a profile” CTA button can be larger and more prominent than the “checkout as a guest” button.
Or you can send the customer an email after they complete the checkout process encouraging them to create a profile.
This message can be part of your actionable drip campaign, notifying customers of:
* their order confirmation
* their order getting shipped
* their order being delivered.
You could add a promotion to one of these emails offering a discount off their next purchase if they create a profile.
Just don’t make it a requirement to buy something.
FOCUS ON YOUR TOP BENEFITS
Besides the product, what else does the customer get when they buy something from your website? There are certain things you can do to add the perceived value of the purchase.
Here’s what I mean.
As I’ve mentioned, not everyone comes to your website with the intention of buying something. But while they are browsing, something might catch their attention.
They may want to buy it, but they want to make sure they aren’t stuck with it if they change their mind later. That’s why you should clearly state your return policy.
Take a look at this example from Lululemon:
When you’re browsing on their website, you can clearly see at all times they offer free shipping and free returns. Their customers know they can get the item delivered free and send it back without any problems.
Obviously, you don’t want items to be returned. Don’t worry, they probably won’t be. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, about 8% of all purchases get returned.
But just giving your customers the peace of mind can be enough to drive the sale.
In addition to your shipping and return policies, make sure you highlight any other features your company offers. Some things to consider:
* warranty information
* secure checkout
* social proof of the product
* any differentiating features.
One of these elements can turn a “window shopper” into a paying customer.
LEARN HOW TO USE IMAGES
Believe it or not, pictures can help improve your conversion rates. Instead of just listing your products, show the customer what they’re buying.
While you may have an image or two of your products on your ecommerce shopping page, make sure that image shows up in the shopping cart.
Why?
This can help remind the consumer what they’re buying and reinforce their decision. Plus, it’s much more appealing than just reading some text on a page.
Here’s an example from the REI website:
The consumer gets reminded of exactly what they added to their cart. This could also help avoid any confusion or mix-ups down the road if they selected the wrong color, size, etc.
When they see a visual confirmation of the product they want, psychologically they’ll feel more comfortable about completing the purchase.
Faces also help improve your conversion rates.
According to a recent case study, conversions jumped from 3.7% to 5.5% when an animated picture of a phone was replaced with the face of a customer service representative.
Include images of people on your website. They could be wearing your product, using your product, or be beside your product.
Check out this example from the Macy's homepage:
Notice it shows a person, and that person is looking at the promotional information and the CTA button.
We’ve already established consumers are drawn to faces. In this case, you’d look at the model’s face and then follow his gaze directly toward the text.
This is a great method for increasing conversions.
SIMPLIFY THE OVERALL DESIGN OF YOUR WEBSITE
In addition to simplifying your checkout process, you should also try to clean up your entire website.
If your products are displayed in a cluttered manner, the consumers will feel overwhelmed. They won’t be able to find what they’re looking for, and your conversion rates will suffer.
While you may have hundreds or potentially even thousands of items for sale on your website, you don’t need to cram all of them on to one page.
Less is more.
Let’s look at an example so you can see what I’m talking about. Here is the homepage for Thule:
There are only five different places the consumer can click to start navigating through products. On the top header, they can select:
* racks & carriers
* active with kids
* luggage & bags
They’ve also got some options within the main body of the page for:
* bike racks
* strollers
That’s it.
Now, as you continue to scroll, you’ll see more options that follow the same format as these two pictures above. But at no time do you ever see more than two pictures and two CTA buttons on the screen at once.
This simple design makes it easy for shoppers to find exactly what they’re looking for.
GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS LOTS OF PAYMENT OPTIONS
Some payment options may be more beneficial to your company than others. I completely understand this.
One credit card company may charge higher transaction fees than others, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t accept that method of payment.
Recognize your customers have preferences. Certain payment options may give them better reward points or bonus miles over others.
If they want something but can’t buy it with their favorite card, they’ll just buy it from a different retailer instead.
You should accept newer and unconventional types of payment as well. In addition to accepting all major credit cards and debit cards, consider using:
* PayPal
* Venmo
* Apple Pay
I want to show you an example of this. Here’s a screenshot from the Nike website:
If you look at the bottom right corner of the screenshot above, you'll see they allow their customers to check out using PayPal.
This could appeal to people who have a high PayPal balance and who want to use it for purchases. Accepting PayPal can also help eliminate concerns from customers who may be worried about their credit card information getting stolen.
The reason why I used this example from Nike is because it also highlights another concept I mentioned earlier.
Although they encourage customers to create a profile, they allow them to continue the checkout as guests. Even under the guest checkout area, it shows all the benefits of becoming a member.
To join, all you need to do is check off a box and proceed.
Another quick point about your payment methods. I recommend asking for payment as the _last step of the checkout procedure_.
By now, the customer has already invested some time into providing other information, so they'll be more likely to continue. Asking for their payment first could drive them away.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT MOBILE SHOPPERS
Retailers always need to keep mobile shoppers in mind.
In 2017, 34.5% of ecommerce sales came from mobile devices. That number is projected to reach 54% by 2021.
Your checkout process needs to be optimized for mobile devices. Make sure your site is mobile friendly.
You could even consider creating a mobile app for a checkout process to minimize friction even further.
Touch of Modern is a great example of a successful retail mobile application:
You can learn a lot about getting high conversions from their business model.
They get between 150,000 and 200,000 new downloads every month. More than half of their customers are repeat shoppers. Nearly two-thirds of their total sales come from their mobile application.
Those numbers are incredible.
The reason why this app is so successful is because they use daily flash sales and store all their customers’ data on the app, making the checkout process lightning fast.
Customers don’t have to re-input all of their credit card information and shipping addresses every time they want to buy something.
The reduced friction results in high conversions.
CONCLUSION
Getting higher conversions isn’t that difficult. It just takes some effort.
As you can see from everything I talked about in this article, these methods aren’t really too extreme. They are also fairly easy to implement.
First, analyze your shopping cart abandonment rates.
Next, eliminate any unnecessary steps in your checkout process. Stick to the basics and only ask for information required for a sale.
Encourage shoppers to create a customer profile, but don’t force them to.
Highlight your top benefits. Use images throughout the checkout process to confirm what the customer is buying.
Make sure you offer many different payment options as well.
Don’t forget about mobile customers. Your website needs to be optimized for mobile devices. You may even consider creating a mobile app for your ecommerce store.
If you follow these tips to simplify your checkout process, you’ll get significantly higher conversion rates.
_What changes do you need to make to your checkout process to reduce abandonment rates and get more conversions? _

How long does it take you to write marketing emails?
If you’re anything like me, you put lots of thought, effort, and time into each and every word in the message. That’s what it takes to write actionable email newsletters.
Your message is full of great content. You might even have some discounts, coupons, or other promotional offers there as well.
Maybe you’re promoting a new product, service, or trying to drive traffic to a landing page. Regardless of the goal of your marketing emails, all of your campaigns have one thing in common:
_subscribers need to open them to see your message._
Sounds simple, right? But all too often I see marketers come up with a subject line in two seconds and send out the message.
The subject line is the first thing the recipient sees when they get your email. Just how important is it?
Well, 35% of people open emails based solely on the subject line. Furthermore, 69% of people mark messages as spam based on the subject line.
Basically, your subject line will make or break the success of your marketing campaigns.
To increase your open rates, you’ve got to come up with subject lines that stimulate interactivity, which I identified as one of my top marketing trends of 2018.
But you can’t use the same subject line over and over. That gets boring, and your subscribers will catch on.
That’s why I created this list of the top 7 subject lines that increase open rates. Now you have a reference guide for every message you send.
Let’s dive in.
1. PERSONALIZED SUBJECT LINES
Adding a personal touch to your subject lines can help increase open rates.
In fact, the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM) identified these as the top benefits of personalized emails:
As you can see from their data, increase in open rates was the first benefit of personalized subject lines.
Personalized subjects can have a larger impact on your campaign as well. You’ll also get more clicks, fewer unsubscribes, higher customer satisfaction, and more sales.
What kind of information can you use to personalize a subject line? You can use your customer's:
* name
* postal location
* birthday
* current location
* info related to their transaction history
* content related to browsing history
* product recommendations
* social media accounts
If you’re on the fence about what’s appropriate to use, start off by addressing the recipients by their first name in the subject. See how much of an impact that has on your open rates.
How much of a difference will it make?
Well, research shows that personalized email messages improve clicks by 14% and increase conversions by 10%.
Studies also show that personalized promotional emails result in 29% higher open rates.
The reason why this strategy works is because it helps you establish a more intimate connection with your subscribers. They’ll see that the content was created specifically for them as opposed to a mass audience.
I’m much more likely to open a message that says _“Hey Neil!”_ than the one that begins with _“Dear Valued Customer.”_ The first one makes it seem like I personally know the sender.
Give this method a try next time you’re sending out an email.
2. SUBJECTS THAT CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY
Are you familiar with the concept of FOMO? It stands for the “fear of missing out” on something.
Social media websites today make FOMO more prevalent. Take a look at these numbers:
FOMO has become such a problem for people that it’s impacting the way they live their lives. You can stimulate this powerful emotion in your email subject lines.
How can you create a sense of urgency?
Offer a sale with an expiration date.
If someone is on your subscriber list, they’ve probably bought something from your company in the past. Even if they haven’t, they’re interested enough to probably buy something soon.
While your coupon might be available in the body of the message, you need to make it obvious in the subject line.
Let’s compare two hypothetical subject lines. Which one do you think is more effective?

_“New weekly coupon inside!”_

or

_“25% off sale ends tonight!”_

I promise you that the second example will get more opens than the first one. That’s because the deadline of “ends tonight” gives people a reason to act fast.
If they don’t open the message now, they'll fear they will be missing out on a great deal--FOMO.
Another way to generate urgency is by alluding to a limited quantity of something remaining. Here’s a great example from GetResponse:
GetResponse is an email marketing software. So it’s no surprise they have a great email subject line to promote their services.
The idea is to get people to act fast.
If your subject line says the deal is valid until the end of the month, the recipient has no reason to open it now. They may never open it.
But that can change if you generate urgency.
3. BREAKING NEWS SUBJECT LINES
Your content needs to be highly relevant.
If your company isn’t in the news reporting or media industries, you’ll have to get creative here. Here’s what I mean.
You don’t need to send emails reporting a local robbery or car accident. But you can link recent news to your business.
For example, let’s say you have an ecommerce company that sells clothing. You’ve got your email subscribers segmented by location based on their zip codes.
It’s February, and a winter snowstorm is approaching the states in New England.
You could send an email with a breaking news subject line about the storm and say that you’re selling winter coats, hats, and gloves at a discounted rate.
MailChimp conducted a study in which they analyzed 24 billion emails. These subject lines had roughly 22,000 unique words.
Their data showed that people opened messages with keywords that were related to breaking news.
If you can’t think of ways to link recent news to your email campaigns, create some news of your own. Share recent news about your company.
Talk about things like:
* a new product release
* an approaching event
* new member of your staff
And make them sound like news headlines in your subject lines.
4. SUBJECT LINES THAT TELL A STORY
You can get more sales by mastering the art of storytelling. But you can also increase your email open rates with the same tactic.
Everyone loves to hear a good story.
That’s why we read books, watch movies, and sit for hours watching our favorite television shows on Netflix. The stories keep us captivated.
You should tell stories in your emails to capture the attention of your subscribers. Then you can include CTAs within the story or have the general theme of your story prompt an action.
But the key here is to use the subject line as a teaser for the story.
If you’re trying to drive traffic to a new post you wrote, consider using its title as your subject line--if it tells a story.
Here’s an example of an old post I wrote about spending money on clothes and being able to generate a profit:
That’s a headline that grabs a reader’s attention.
If I wanted to promote this post via email, I could use its title as the subject line. Both of those numbers, spent and earned, are too high for people to ignore.
They might ask themselves, _“How could you make that much money just by spending money on clothes?”_
Then they would click to read the story or, in this case, open your email.
5. STIMULATE CURIOSITY WITH A SUBJECT LINE
People are curious by nature.
Refer back to our last example about storytelling. The reason why someone would want to click on that message is because they are curious.
Your subject line should try to pique the curiosity of your subscribers.
Don’t give it all away in the subject line. Instead, hint at something that they’ll find out if they open your message.
Rather than saying, _“here’s 30% off your next purchase,”_ you can create a mystery sale instead. If you just tell the subscriber their discount, they don’t have a reason to open the message unless they are ready to use it.
Here’s an example from Forever 21 of an email that employs this technique:
Apply the same concept to your subject line.
It doesn’t have to be applied to sales only. You can hint at a mystery event or maybe even a special guest on your next podcast.
Just make sure you’re not giving away all the information in the subject line.
Here’s another example. Let’s say you’re in the food industry. You want to send out an email about the most popular foods in America.
Potatoes are the most commonly consumed vegetable in the United States.
But you wouldn’t write that in your subject line.
Instead, you would write something like, _“What’s America’s favorite vegetable? We’ve got the answer.”_
This subject makes the recipient wonder, whereas just stating the answer gives them no reason to actually open the message.
6. SHORT SUBJECT LINES
No matter what type of content your subject line contains, it needs to be short. Avoid using really long sentences and unnecessary characters.
To optimize the length of your subject lines, I recommend writing out several drafts before deciding on one. Then you can pick and choose pieces of each draft so you can make your message as short as possible.
How long is too long? Studies show that email subjects lines that have between 1 and 20 characters have the highest open rates.
As you can see, this statement holds true across the board, regardless of the type of email you may want to send.
It's possible that if the subject line is too long, the recipient may not be able to see all of the words.
Studies show 55% of emails get opened on a mobile device.
Take this into consideration when you’re crafting a subject line. While it may look fine on your computer, it may look different on a smaller screen.
Here’s an example to show you what I’m talking about:
While most businesses realize that their emails need to be optimized for mobile devices, they forget about the subject lines.
Overall, if your subject line is short, you’ll get higher open rates.
7. SUBJECT LINES WITH FREE STUFF
It’s OK to give things away. Some companies avoid this because they think it’s not profitable, which I completely understand.
Look, I’m not saying you need to give away your most expensive products. But it doesn’t hurt to give away a gift with a purchase every now and then.
This is especially true if you’re using an email campaign to promote the free offer.
Why?
Take a look at these numbers:
Email marketing campaigns generate a 4,300% return on your investment. That’s because it’s not expensive to send emails.
You’re likely only paying a marginal monthly or annual fee for your software.
Plus you get many benefits, e.g., an increase in sales, more website traffic, and new leads. So it’s OK to use this platform to promote a free offer.
Include the word “FREE” in your subject line to get more subscribers to open your messages.
CONCLUSION
Your email campaigns might be great, but if you can’t get people to open the messages, they are pointless.
I know how much time you spend writing your emails, so you need to put just as much effort into the subject lines.
Personalize your subject lines, or introduce a story or news.
Stimulate curiosity. Make the reader want to find out more information by clicking the message.
Give away stuff, and tell people about it in your subject line.
No matter which tactic you use, try to keep your subject lines short. Make sure they can be read on mobile devices.
If you follow these tips, you’ll get significantly higher open rates.
_What types of subject lines are you using to get subscribers to open your messages?_

Not everyone wants to buy what you’re selling.
For your startup company to be successful, you need to identify your target market.
This is one of the first steps of launching a startup company.
But it’s much easier said than done.
If you don’t have a clear target audience in mind, your marketing campaigns are going to cost you a fortune.
You’ll also have low conversion rates, and your customer acquisition costs will be through the roof.
Marketing to everyone and anyone is simply a waste of effort, time, and money.
Instead, focus your branding and marketing strategies on a specific group of people who genuinely have a need, want, or interest in your company.
Cash in the bank is obviously important for every business, but for startup companies, it’s their lifeline.
If your marketing campaigns are unsuccessful, your startup is going to bleed money.
Take a look at the top reasons why startups fail:
Let’s focus on the top two.
REASON #1: 42% of startups failed because there wasn’t a market for their offering.
That’s why identifying your market needs to be one of the first steps.
If you discover there isn’t a market for what your startup has to offer, you can go back to the drawing board and try something else before you invest too much time and money.
REASON #2: 29% of startups failed because they ran out of money.
Spending your valuable marketing budget on the wrong target audience could cause your company to go out of business.
With limited cash in the bank, you may not be able to recover from this.
But don’t worry.
I’ll explain what you need to do to identify your target market, which will position your startup company for success.
START WITH BROAD ASSUMPTIONS, AND SLOWLY NARROW YOUR FOCUS
Don’t start with a really narrow audience right away.
Instead, begin with larger groups that you assume may be interested in your brand.
From here, you can slowly start getting more specific.
Use a few of these simple and general segments to get started:
* gender
* age
* location
You can also use these broad groups to eliminate people who aren’t in your target market.
For example, let’s take a look at some products from the Texas Beard Company:
They sell things such as beard oil, brushes, balms, combs, and any accessory you would need for a healthy beard.
So if you had a startup company like this, right away you could eliminate women from your target audience.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying women won’t buy these products.
It’s definitely possible women could make a purchase from this brand as a gift for men in their lives. But you wouldn’t make them part of your target audience.
What else can you assume about men who are looking for beard products?
Take their age into consideration.
It’s safe to assume that neither teenagers nor too many senior citizens would be buying these products.
As a result, you would eliminate males under the age of 20 and over the age of 60 from your target audience.
What else can you assume about the people who may be interested in your products?
They either have a beard or want to grow a beard.
In the example we just used, you’ve already narrowed your target market to men between the ages of 20 and 60 who have beards.
As we continue through this process, we’ll narrow the target audience even more, but for now, this is a great place to start.
ANALYZE YOUR COMPETITION
It’s rare for people to come up with a product or service that doesn’t already exist.
While the idea for your startup may be somewhat unique, you’ll still be a part of an existing industry.
Other people are already doing what you’re trying to do.
You’ve got to find out how to position your company within your industry:
To do this properly, you’ll need to conduct research on your competition.
Figure out what they’re doing well and what needs improvement.
Whom are your competitors targeting?
Look at their advertisements, visit their website, join their email subscription lists…
You can attempt to go after the same target market or focus on a group your competition may be overlooking.
Look at the graphic above as a reference.
Are you going to target a niche audience or sell products for the masses?
Will your brand have high quality products/services at a premium price, or are you planning to target cost-sensitive consumers?
It will be easier to answer these questions after you research the competition.
Analyzing your competition can help you increase profits even after your startup launches.
Competitive analysis can also show you how consumers behave in this industry:
Ideally, you want to build long-lasting relationships with your customers.
But this idea can vary based on your products, services, brand, and industry.
You need to adjust your target market accordingly.
For example, let’s say your startup company sells cars or similar products.
A customer today may not be ready to buy another vehicle for another decade. In this case, you can’t rely on loyal and repeat customers.
Instead, you’ll have to focus on customer acquisition strategies.
Find out how your competition is able to continually market to different customers and whether their campaigns are successful.
TALK TO PEOPLE
While making assumptions and analyzing your competition are logical places to start, those strategies will only get you so far.
If you really want to focus on the ideal target market for your startup company, you need to put in much more work.
You need to speak to consumers.
See if your assumptions are right.
Conduct one-on-one interviews, and use focus groups to test your assumptions.
For example, let’s say your brand's general target market is women between the ages of 25 and 40.
It's a huge percentage of the population. You’ll have to come up with other ways to segment that target market into smaller groups genuinely interested in your brand.
Here’s a way for you to segment your target market:
Focus groups and interviews can give you more information about potential consumers for your company.
Your focus groups should have 10 to 12 participants.
Show these people different products, services, or marketing campaigns your startup is planning to use.
See how receptive they are to what you’re showing them.
Find out more information about the people who have a positive reaction.
If you’re interviewing only women between the ages of 25 and 40, what other similarities do they have?
For example, you might find out that all the women who liked your products were married.
You could also discover that women of a certain social class or annual household income were more receptive to your brand than others.
Make sure you find out as much information as possible about everyone in your focus groups.
Use the market segmentation graphic above as a reference.
Have all of your participants fill out a questionnaire before the interview or focus group starts.
But realize you won’t find out everything you need after just one session or interview.
This market research phase is an ongoing process.
The more people you can talk to, the more accurate your data will be.
As a result, it will be easier for you to identify your target market.
CREATE CUSTOMER PERSONAS
Now that you have a better understanding of your target market, create customer personas to learn even more about their buying behavior.
A customer persona will ultimately help you market to this audience.
Here’s what a customer persona looks like:
Make the persona specific to your company.
You can tell the example above is for a business selling shoes.
This customer persona has trouble finding shoes that fit her because she has narrow feet.
Now, your startup company may sell shoes to both men and women.
But each persona needs to be unique.
Your general target market in this segment may be:
* women
* 30 to 40 years old
* $30-45k annual salary
* lives in the western part of the United States.
Your customer persona has to be more specific. Notice that the example shows a woman who is:
* 36 years old
* $38k annual salary
* located in Los Angeles, CA.
Do you see the difference?
The results of your interviews and focus groups can help you create these customer personas.
Not all of your customers are shopping for the same reason.
The purpose of the customer persona is to figure out the psychological and behavioral shopping approaches to consumers within your target market.
If you identify that a large portion of your target market has a similar occupation or lives in the same part of the country, you can adjust your marketing campaigns accordingly.
USE SURVEYS
Once your startup launches and you start getting sales, you can use customer surveys to find out more information about your target audience.
These surveys can help show your customers how much you care about them:
You want to find out more information about your customers so that you can improve their shopping experience.
But you’ll also use those survey results to identify your market.
Find out who they are and what they are using your products or services for.
Get information related to their:
* demographics
* geographic location
* psychographic traits
* behavioral trends
Earlier I told you to start by making assumptions about your potential target market.
But now that you have actual customers, there’s no reason for you to assume.
You’ve got actual people who were drawn to your startup company. This is your target market.
Now you need to figure out exactly who they are so you can target other people in this segment.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANALYTICS AND OTHER RESOURCES
I’m going to assume your startup company has a website.
If it doesn’t, I hope you’re in the process of building one ASAP.
Who is visiting your website?
The traffic to your site can be a good indicator of your target audience.
Google Analytics can show you who is visiting your website:
This is an example of demographic data you would be able to get from these analytics.
The traffic from this sample is mostly males between the ages of 18 and 34.
Google takes these analytics one step further and displays other information such as:
* sessions
* bounce rates
* pages per session
* average session duration
* transactions
* new users.
The reports are generated and grouped by demographic information.
It helps you identify which users on your website are the most valuable.
That’s how you can determine your target market.
CONCLUSION (BE READY TO MAKE CHANGES)
As you can see, identifying your target market is a long process.
When you first get started, you’ll need to make general assumptions about your prospective customers, since you don’t have any concrete data yet.
Slowly start to narrow down that market based on your brand, products, services, and industry.
Use competitor analysis tools to see who is getting targeted by other businesses in your industry.
Are you going to take the same approach? Or will you focus on a different segment?
Talk to people.
Interviews and focus groups are a great way to help you narrow down your target market.
Customer personas allow you to focus on specific customers with unique needs.
Once your company starts getting sales, try to survey your existing customers to find out more information about them.
You can also use online analytics tools to see who is visiting your website.
Just be ready to make changes.
Your initial assumptions about your target market may be wrong.
That’s okay.
As long as you’re able to adjust your marketing campaigns based on new information, your startup company will survive and thrive.
_What’s the target market for your startup company?_

Where is your website traffic coming from?
If you’re relying on people to find you through a Google search, search engine optimization (SEO) needs to be at the top of your priority list.
You won’t be able to generate leads for your business if nobody can find you.
Did you know 93% of experiences on the Internet start with a search engine?
What happens after someone makes a search?
The top result on Google has a 33% chance of getting clicked.
That means if you’re not number one on the page, you just missed out on a third of potential traffic.
What’s even more astonishing is that 75% people won’t even click on the second page of the search results.
The reason why other websites are ranking higher than you on Google is because they are making a conscious effort to improve their SEO.
Fortunately, it’s not too late for you to get started.
There are certain things you can do to increase your chances of getting ranked higher on Google searches.
I’ve identified the top 14 ways to improve your SEO ranking. Here they are.
1. IMPROVE YOUR PAGE LOADING SPEED
Your page loading time is important for a few reasons.
First of all, if your load speed is too slow, Google will recognize this, and it will harm your ranking.
But a slow website will also impact the way your website visitors engage with your pages.
As a result, those negative interactions will hurt your ranking too.
Look at how abandonment rates increase for websites with long page loading times:
How slow is too slow?
Research shows 40% of visitors will abandon websites if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
What’s even more shocking is that 80% of those visitors won’t return to that website.
This is terrible for your SEO ranking because it ultimately kills traffic to your site.
But on the flip side, if your page loads fast, people will keep coming back.
Google’s algorithm will recognize your website’s popularity and adjust your search ranking accordingly.
If you want to test the speed of your website, there are online services such as Pingdom available for free.
This will allow you to test your website from different locations all over the world.
2. PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY CONTENT
How often do you update your website?
If you haven’t touched it since the day you built it, you probably don’t have a great SEO ranking right now.
To drive more traffic to your website and increase its popularity, you need to give visitors a reason to keep coming back.
Your content needs to be high quality, recent, and relevant.
Another factor that impacts your SEO ranking is so-called dwell time.
This relates to how much time people spend on your website per visit.
If your site has fresh, exciting, or newsworthy information, it will keep visitors on your page longer and improve your dwell time.
Websites that provide highly informative content typically have long dwell times.
Here’s something else to consider.
Google Chrome controls nearly 45% of the Internet browser market share, making it the most popular browser in the world.
That number will continue to rise as Chrome was also the most downloaded browser of 2017:
When users bookmark your website from a Google Chrome browser, it can help your SEO ranking.
High quality and relevant content will increase the chances of your website being bookmarked by visitors.
3. OPTIMIZE YOUR IMAGES
Pictures and other images are great for your website.
But you need to make sure they are optimized properly if you want these images to improve your SEO ranking.
I’m referring to factors such as the file format and size.
Huge images can slow your page loading time, which, as I've said, hurts your ranking.
Resize or compress your images to optimize them.
You can also use your images to sneak in keywords by naming them accordingly.
For example, let’s say you have a website that sells toiletries or other bath products.
Instead of naming an image something like “shampoo1,” you could name it “best shampoo for long hair.”
You can also strategically use keywords in the title of your image as well as the caption or description.
4. BREAK UP YOUR CONTENT WITH HEADER TAGS
Headings are another way to help improve the user experience on your website.
They break up the content and make it easier to read or skim.
Plus, headers make everything look more appealing, which is always beneficial.
If your website is just a wall of text, it’s going to discourage people from spending a long time on it.
As a result, your SEO ranking will suffer.
If you’re running your site on WordPress, you can easily change the header tags.
I use header tags for all my websites and blog posts.
If you’re not utilizing this tool, I highly recommend you start ASAP.
5. START BLOGGING
Blogging is great for your business.
It’s an outstanding tool for lead generation and helps you engage with visitors to your website.
But what most people don’t realize is blogging also improves SEO rankings.
Here’s why.
As I have already mentioned, producing fresh, updated, and relevant content can drive people to your website and give them a reason to stay on your pages for a while.
Well, blogs are the perfect channel for you to accomplish this.
If you can establish a large group of faithful readers, you can get lots of traffic to your site on a daily basis.
Plus, you can incorporate other things I talked about so far into your posts as well, such as images and header tags.
Other elements, such as links, increased readability, and keywords, can also be incorporated into these posts. I will talk about them shortly.
All of this positively impacts your search engine ranking.
6. USE OUTBOUND LINKS
There are certain things you can do to increase the credibility of your website.
Sure, you can make claims, but it looks much better if you back them up.
All of your data claims should be linked to trustworthy and authoritative sources.
As you can see from what you’ve read so far today, I do this myself.
But here’s another example that illustrates what I’m talking about from a blog post I wrote about generating leads on Twitter:
All my facts are citations from authority sources.
And I made sure to use outbound hyperlinks to those websites.
You should not only link to authority sites but also make sure all the information is recent.
Notice that the graph I used in the example above is from 2017.
Outbound links to resources from 2009 are irrelevant and won’t be as effective for your SEO ranking.
You should also include internal links.
These links will direct visitors to other pages on your website.
I used this technique in the first sentence of this section.
If you scroll back up and click on the link, you’ll get redirected to another Quick Sprout blog post.
7. ADD MORE THAN TEXT
The content on your website shouldn’t be only written words.
As I said earlier, pictures are great too, but there’s more you can add to improve your SEO ranking.
Consider adding other multimedia elements such as videos, slideshows, or audio to your site.
All of this can help improve the user experience.
Why?
For starters, consumers want to see more videos:
It’s much easier to watch something than read about it.
But there’s a direct correlation between videos and other multimedia sources on your website, and it's SEO ranking.
These features can dramatically improve the amount of time someone spends on your website.
Depending on the length of your videos, people could be on your page for several minutes.
If that happens, it will definitely boost your search ranking.
8. MAKE SURE YOUR SITE IS READABLE
Keep your audience in mind when you’re writing content on your website.
If you want people to visit your site and spend time there, speak in terms they can understand.
Don’t try to sound like a doctor or a lawyer (even if you are one).
Your content should be written in a way the majority of people can understand.
Not sure if your content is readable?
You can use online resources to help.
One of my personal favorites is Readable.io.
Tools like this can help you identify words that might be too long or difficult for people to comprehend.
9. FIX ANY BROKEN LINKS
If you’re using authority websites for hyperlinks, you shouldn’t have to worry about the links breaking.
But it can still happen.
Broken links can crush your SEO ranking.
Plus, it doesn’t look good when a link you provide to your visitors brings them to an invalid website.
You can use tools like Dead Link Checker to search for links with errors on your website:
You can use this to check your entire website or specific pages.
If you sign up, you can also set up your account to get checked automatically.
Anytime a link goes dead, you’ll be contacted right away so you can replace it.
You can also use this resource to monitor other websites relevant to your industry.
How can that help your SEO?
Well, if a link goes dead on another website, you can notify the webmaster of that page and ask them to replace the dead link with a link to your website instead.
You’re doing them a favor by letting them know about a problem with their site, so they might be willing to do you a favor in return.
This will drive more traffic to your website. Outbound links from other websites to your page will help improve your SEO ranking too.
10. OPTIMIZE YOUR SITE FOR MOBILE DEVICES
As I’m sure you know, mobile use is on the rise.
It’s rising so fast that it’s actually overtaken computers and laptop devices.
In fact, over 60% of Google searches come from mobile devices.
Obviously, Google recognizes this and ranks sites accordingly.
Your website needs to be optimized for mobile users.
There’s no way around this.
If your site isn’t optimized, it’ll hinder the user experience, adversely affecting your ranking.
11. PROPERLY FORMAT YOUR PAGE
Take your time when you’re coming up with a layout for your website.
It needs to be neat, clear, organized, and uncluttered.
Consider things like your font size and typography.
Use colored text, bold font, and italics _sparingly_.
Things such as bullet points and checklists make it easy for visitors to scan through your content.
Take a look at this example from Square:
It’s super clean.
They’ve got a simple picture and reasonable amount of text.
The way the text is formatted makes it easy for people to read, especially with the bullet points.
As you can see, Square also included different header tags and subheadings on their page.
If your website is cluttered with too many pictures, advertisements, colors, and blocks of text, it can appear untrustworthy.
Your site architecture and navigation also fall into this category.
A clean format and design will improve your SEO ranking.
12. PROVIDE APPROPRIATE CONTACT INFORMATION
Speaking of appearing untrustworthy, have you ever struggled to find the contact information of a business on a website?
I know I have.
This should never happen.
All your contact information should be clear and in plain sight for people to find.
The worst thing that could happen is for people to start reporting your website just because you forgot to include your phone number, email address, and location.
This will crush your SEO.
13. ENCOURAGE SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Every business and website needs to be active on social media.
That’s pretty much common knowledge.
But what’s not as well known is that you can get your SEO ranking improved if people share links to your website on social media.
Here’s an example from a pest control website case study in which they ran a campaign specifically designed to increase social sharing:
The infographic was shared 1,117 times in just two weeks.
During those same two weeks, the website's organic search traffic rose by 15%.
As a result, their SEO ranking improved as well.
And that was just over a couple of weeks.
Imagine the results you’ll see if you encourage social sharing as a regular part of your SEO campaigns.
One of the best ways to do this is by including social sharing icons on all your content.
You should also share links on your social media pages.
When that information appears on people's timelines, all it takes is just one click for them to share it.
14. USE KEYWORDS
Take a look at the components of the Google ranking algorithm:
Keywords play a major role in this formula.
You want to include words people will search for throughout your content.
But do it sparingly.
If you go overboard saturating your website with keywords, Google will pick up on this, and it will have an adverse effect on your ranking.
Keywords should fit naturally into sentences.
Include them in your header tags and even in image captions.
You should also use long-tail keywords, which are three or four word phrases that could be found in a search.
For example, someone probably won’t just search for the word “phone” when they’re looking for something.
But they may type in the phrase “best phone for texting” as an alternative.
If your keywords match their search, your website will have a greater chance of getting ranked higher.
CONCLUSION
Search engine optimization isn’t just a fad that’s going to phase out soon.
It’s something your website needs to concentrate on right now and in the future as well.
If you’re just starting to focus on SEO, you’re a little bit behind, but it’s definitely not too late to implement the strategies I just talked about.
Don’t get overwhelmed.
I’m not expecting you to make 14 drastic changes to your website overnight.
Start with a few, and move on to the others.
Monitor your results.
Checking your traffic and search ranking will help validate your SEO strategy.
Soon enough, you’ll be making your way toward the top search results on Google.
Who knows, you might even be able to claim that number one spot.
_What have you done so far to improve your website’s Google search ranking? _

Any business selling products knows how important the profit margins are to its success.
What if I told you that you could increase those profits without altering the products?
Well, I’ve got good news. This is easily attainable if you can enhance the perceived value of your items.
Then, you can charge more money for the same products you’re already selling and get sky high profits.
But there’s a science behind this method.
If you’ve been selling the same item at a $5 price point for the last ten years, you can’t just start selling it tomorrow for $500 and expect people to buy it.
It’s all about creating a brand image that’s perceived as high class, luxury, or exclusive.
For those of you who have been promoting a bargain brand for a long time, this strategy is not as easy to implement as it is for other businesses.
But for new businesses or existing companies selling products at a price point that’s not too low, there are subtle changes you can make to increase your perceived value.
Granted, this won’t happen overnight.
Consumers may already have a certain perception of your brand and products.
It’s your job to change that perception so you can charge more and benefit from higher profits.
I’ll explain how it’s done.
NARROW YOUR TARGET MARKET
Charging more for your products means not everyone can afford what you’re selling.
That’s okay.
Take a look at the cars for sale on the Range Rover website:
They’ve got base models starting at over $80,000.
That’s more than double the average transaction price of a car in the United States, which is roughly $35,000.
Higher prices mean you’re alienating the majority of consumers from your brand.
You need to analyze the current trends and focus your marketing campaigns on a specific audience.
Sure, deep pockets may be a good place to start, but you’ll have to dig a little deeper than that to zoom in on a target market.
Segment potential consumers by factors such as:
* age
* gender
* location
* marital status
* hobbies
* beliefs
Next, create a customer journey map to put yourself in the shoes of your customers.
That will help you identify whether your perceived value is high enough to charge premium prices.
Quality is important too.
For example, when you eat at a global fast food chain, you have modest expectations of quality you will get there—with a matching price.
But when you order a steak and lobster dinner at a fancy steakhouse inside a 5-star resort, you’re expecting the quality to be much better.
Each place I described above has its own target market.
Promoting your brand to a narrow niche creates a feeling of exclusivity within the target demographic.
They like the idea not everyone has the means to buy what you’re selling.
PRODUCE A LIMITED QUANTITY OF EACH ITEM
Now that your target audience has changed, you don’t need to produce as many products.
Just focus on selling whatever you manufacture.
If you’re making a high-demand item, you can produce even fewer quantities to make them rare.
Take a look at how Ferrari accomplished this in 2016:
The luxury brand made only 209 of the LaFerrari Aperta models.
Ferrari wanted to keep nine of the vehicles for themselves, so they put the other 200 up for sale.
They sold out right away.
No, that’s not a mistake in the CNBC headline.
The price for each vehicle is $2.2 million.
That’s $440 million in sales.
Now, I don’t know the exact cost of manufacturing of these vehicles, but I can guarantee those profit margins are astronomical.
Let’s reflect on our last point for a minute here.
Ferrari doesn’t care about the millions of drivers across the globe.
They just need 200 people to buy this product.
Owning one of these vehicles makes people feel as though they are part of an elite group.
This strategy drastically differs from that of other companies such as Honda Motor.
To compare, the Japanese car manufacturer sold over 360,000 Honda Civics in the United States alone in 2016.
Their brand targets a mass audience, so they have to produce enough products for everyone.
LIMIT THE BUYER’S CHOICES
In addition to producing fewer items of each product, you should also limit your product lines.
Giving people too many choices ends up hurting your conversions.
Louis Vuitton recognizes this and limits their product lines accordingly:
If you’re shopping for a Nano bag on their website, you’ll have only four products to choose from.
Having hundreds of options available would confuse the customer.
It’s too difficult for them to decide what they want, so they may not end up buying anything.
If they do end up selecting an item from a large field, they will be more likely to have buyer’s remorse.
They’ll keep reflecting on decisions they could have made instead.
That’s not the feeling you want your customers to have after buying something from your company, especially if they are paying lots of money for it.
Those negative feelings will give them a bad association with your brand and could prevent them from buying something else from you in the future.
Here’s a study to illustrate my point about too many choices, the jam study:
As you can see from the research conducted by this grocery store, customers were much more likely to buy the product when they were offered fewer options.
The data also suggests that not as many people were attracted to the jam when fewer choices were available.
That’s fine.
We already established we’re marketing to a narrower target market.
As long as your conversion rates are high and you’re selling everything you’re producing, you won’t have anything to worry about.
ENHANCE YOUR PACKAGING
Think of your packaging as an extension of your product.
If you’re selling something like a ring, necklace, watch, or another piece of jewelry, you should consider packaging your products in a carrying case.
Have you ever bought a pair of cheap sunglasses from a kiosk at the mall or a vendor on the street?
They usually package them in some kind of soft cloth that won’t protect them from damage if you drop them.
But sunglasses that come with a durable carrying case can enhance the perceived value, and the price can reflect it.
It makes the customer feel that what they’re buying is worth protecting.
But don’t stop with the functional parts of the packaging.
Everything else needs to be enhanced too.
For example, if you go to big box stores, you’ll get all your items tossed in a standard plastic bag when you check out.
But if you shop at a luxury retailer, your purchase will be placed in a customized bag that’s durable and sleek, possibly with a cloth handle.
Your purchase may even be wrapped in tissue paper or have something else to make it look nicer.
Take a look at how Jordan Brand packages their shoes:
These shoeboxes are much more than just a way to get your sneakers from the store to your house.
The packaging makes it a collector’s item.
That’s why Jordan is able to sell out basketball sneakers priced at over $200.
STAND BY YOUR PRODUCTS
If you’re selling at a high price, you have to go the extra mile when it comes to your customer service.
Offer the customer things like:
* free shipping
* returns
* extended warranty
It will put the customer’s mind at ease and make them more willing to spend the extra money.
If you have physical retail locations, make sure your staff are trained properly to relay these messages to the customer.
For those of you with an ecommerce store, clearly and proudly display your guarantees on your website.
Look at this example from Red Wing Shoes:
Red Wing lets customers return their purchases within 30 days of the sale, even after they’ve worn the shoes.
That’s a huge incentive for customers, especially since this company is known for selling work boots.
You can buy a pair of boots and wear them in the snow, dirt, and rain every day for a month.
If you’re not happy, bring them back for a refund.
Guarantees like this enhance the perceived value because them make the customer assume they’ll be satisfied.
Nobody would offer a return policy like this if every pair of sold shoes were brought back in.
Red Wing is able to charge more money for their products because of this.
You can easily apply the same strategy in your business.
Produce high-quality products, and back them up with an outstanding return policy or warranty.
USE SOCIAL PROOF
Social proof drives sales, especially if your brand partners with a celebrity.
In 2013, Adidas teamed up with hip-hop icon Kanye West.
They let Kanye design his own shoes:
When celebrities endorse a product, it enhances the perceived value.
After consumers see a celebrity wearing something, they want to buy it too.
But Adidas also used one of the strategies we talked about earlier and produced only limited quantities of these shoes.
If you look at their website, you’ll see all of the sneakers are sold out:
These sneakers are such commodities that they are sold on the secondary market for thousands of dollars.
Obviously, those aftermarket sales don’t generate more profits for Adidas.
However, they definitely enhance the perceived value.
That’s because Adidas focused on a narrow audience, produced a limited quantity, and used celebrity social proof as a branding strategy.
So they can charge more money for these sneakers compared to other items sold on their website.
RAISE THE PRICES, AND DON’T OFFER DISCOUNTS
Sometimes just raising your prices can be enough to enhance the perceived value.
Let’s say you’re sick and go to the pharmacy to get some medicine.
As you look through your options, you see a generic, store brand medicine for $3.
Right next to it, you see a name brand medicine for $11.
You might say to yourself, “I recognize the name of this brand, and the product is more expensive. So it must be better, right?”
Maybe not everyone will feel this way, but if you’re sick, you might not want to take the chance of buying medicine that might not make you feel better.
Here’s a visual representation of different pricing segments for wine:
As you can see, the more expensive the wine gets, the higher the perceived value becomes.
If you’re comparing two bottles of wine based on the price alone, it’s natural for you to think the more expensive bottle is better.
Furthermore, if you’re trying to establish your brand as high class or luxurious, you shouldn’t offer discounts.
Items on sale lower the perceived value.
It can also deter customers from buying your products at full price. They may wait until you send them some kind of promotion.
While coupons and sales incentives are normally a great way to market your products and drive sales, it’s not the best way to enhance your perceived value.
Remember, you’re marketing to a narrow target market.
These people don’t necessarily need items to go on sale to be able to afford what you’re selling, so just stick to your current prices.
Let’s look at the Gucci website:
Notice anything strange here?
You don’t see any words like:
* sale
* discount
* promotion
* free
* special
Those terms aren’t part of their branding strategy.
Instead, you see a limited quantity of luxury items that are perceived to have a high value.
That’s why they are able to put high price tags on these products.
CONCLUSION
You can charge more for your products if you change the consumer perception of your brand.
This strategy may require some rebranding if your company has been in business for a while.
Don’t expect to see results right away.
Slowly implement the strategies I described here to your products and start to raise the base prices.
You need to focus your marketing efforts on a narrow target audience.
Less is more.
Produce limited quantities of each item, and limit the buyer’s options within each product line.
Enhance your packaging, and make sure your brand stands by everything you sell.
Celebrity social proof can also make your products appear more valuable.
Sometimes having high prices alone are enough to enhance the perceived value.
Don’t offer any coupons, discounts, or sales promotions if you’re pursuing this strategy.
_What steps are you taking to enhance your brand’s image and the perceived value of your products?_

How well does your ecommerce website convert?
On average, ecommerce sites in the United States convert at about a 3% rate.
If you’re hovering somewhere around that number, you might think your website is already optimized for high conversions.
Even if you think you’re doing well, there’s always room for improvement.
In fact, some of the top performing websites, such as the Google Play Store, have a conversion rate close to 30%.
Companies such as the Dollar Shave Club have roughly a 20% conversion rate.
Do you still think 3% is sufficient?
I don’t.
If you have an ecommerce website, you need to constantly make improvements that add credibility to your website. This will help you get more conversions.
For the most part, these changes won’t cost you much money but will bring a massive return.
You could double or even triple your conversion rates in just a few months by implementing some of these conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies.
Those of you who don’t know how to optimize your ecommerce site for conversions are in luck.
I’m an expert in this space and have plenty of experience consulting businesses about their CRO.
I’ve come up with a list of the top eight ways for ecommerce sites to increase their conversions.
Here’s how you can get started right away.
1. SIMPLIFY THE CHECKOUT PROCESS
How long does it take for someone to complete a purchase once they’re done browsing on your website?
Studies show 27% of shoppers abandon their carts on an ecommerce website because the checkout process is too long and complicated:
On average, the number of steps to check out on an ecommerce website is 5.42.
If you’re somewhere in that average range, nearly 30% of your prospective customers think your checkout process is too long.
Think about how much money you’re leaving on the table.
The more steps a customer has to take to complete the checkout, the more likely they'll abandon the cart.
It gives them too many reasons to back out.
Don’t give them an excuse. Finalize your sale.
Get back to the basics, and narrow down the information you actually need from the customer:
* shipping information
* payment information
* email address to send a receipt.
That’s really it.
You don’t need to know their favorite color or who referred them to your website.
While additional insight may be beneficial to your marketing department, you still have plenty to work with from just those few pieces of information.
Based on the shipping location, you know where the customer lives. You have their name from their payment information. And you have a way to contact them via email.
Now you can send them a confirmation email as part of an actionable drip campaign to try to cross-sell and upsell products based on the customer's current order or location.
You can even personalize that message since you know the customer’s name.
Don’t force your customers to fill out a form that’s longer than paperwork at the doctor’s office.
Simplify your checkout process and only ask for essential information needed to complete the sale.
2. HIGHLIGHT ITEMS THAT ARE ON SALE
Most online shoppers—86% of them— say it’s important for them to compare prices from different sellers before making a purchase.
It’s no secret price is an important factor when it comes to a purchase decision.
That’s why you shouldn’t hide your discounted items.
Take a look at how Macy's highlights markdowns on their homepage:
The website is absolutely plastered with buzz words like:
* free
* X% off
* markdowns
* sale
That’s why they are able to get higher conversions than their competitors.
Customers love to get a deal.
Buying something that’s on sale makes your customers feel better about spending money.
All too often I see companies try to hide their sale items.
They would rather sell items listed at a full price.
That’s a big mistake.
Instead, highlight discounted products and services.
You can always try to cross-sell or upsell to those customers later by enticing them to buy something else through other marketing efforts.
3. DISPLAY MULTIPLE PICTURES OF THE PRODUCT FOR SALE
You shouldn’t be selling anything based on just a description.
Your customers want to see exactly what they’re purchasing.
Make sure your images are high quality and portray the item in question accurately.
Here’s a great example from Lululemon to show you what I’m talking about:
There are six different pictures of just one pair of shorts.
They show the product from different angles and even zoom in on some of the top features like a pocket that’s designed to keep a cell phone secure.
Pictures are much more reliable in relating information about a product than a written description of it.
You can apply the same concept to your ecommerce site.
Sure, it may take you a little bit more time to set up each product.
You’ll have to take more pictures and include additional images on your website.
But I’m sure you’ll notice a positive impact in terms of your conversions after you implement this strategy.
4. PROVIDE LIVE CHAT SUPPORT FOR CUSTOMERS WHO ARE SHOPPING
Even if your website is very informative, some customers may still have questions while they’re shopping.
You should set up a live chat option for your site visitors to communicate with a customer service representative.
Imagine someone wants to buy something, but they don’t—simply because they have a question and don’t have a way to get an answer.
Try to offer an online shopping experience they would get inside a physical store, with a sales associate available to assist them.
Look at how Apple does it. They offer a live chat for shoppers on their website, and it looks like this:
They make it super easy for customers to get all their questions answered online.
This is especially important if your company sells products that may need some extra explanation.
Realize not all of your prospective and current customers may be experts in your industry.
Although your product descriptions may be accurate, it’s possible there’s some terminology the customer doesn’t understand.
Rather than forcing them to pick up the phone or do outside research, offer them a live chat. Receiving this type of help can be the deciding factor that leads to a conversion for this customer.
5. OFFER MULTIPLE PAYMENT OPTIONS
Imagine this.
Someone wants to buy something on your website, but they can’t because you don’t accept their preferred payment method.
This should never be the reason for you to miss out on conversions.
While I realize some credit card companies may charge you higher rates than others, it doesn’t mean you should restrict payment options for your customers.
Try to accommodate as many people as possible.
While I’m not suggesting you need to accept cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, you should be accepting every major credit card, e.g.:
* Visa
* MasterCard
* American Express
* Discover
You should even offer alternative payment options such as:
* PayPal
* Apple Pay
* Venmo
Here’s an example from American Eagle:
They accept nine different payment methods on their ecommerce site.
You need to offer as many options as possible for your customers.
It all comes down to convenience.
Some companies may just accept MasterCard and Visa.
They figure those are popular options, so everyone must have one, right?
But here’s the thing: you don’t know everyone’s financial situation.
While someone may have a Visa, it could already have a high balance on it, forcing them to use a different payment method.
Others may want to use their American Express card or Discover card because they get better rewards there.
And some people may not want to use a credit card at all if they have a sufficient PayPal balance.
The more options you offer, the greater the chance you’ll appeal to a wider audience.
Don’t assume everyone wants to pay with the cards you accept if that selection is limited.
Assume people will find a similar product elsewhere, where their preferred payment option is accepted, which will crush your conversion rates.
6. HAVE CLEAR CTA BUTTONS
Make sure your call-to-action buttons are clear.
They should be bold, standing out from other content on your website.
You can even put a box around the CTAs, clearly separating them from other text on each page.
Take a look at how The North Face does this on their website:
It’s clear which buttons on their homepage will direct customers to the right page.
Even though they have lots of different options, their website isn’t cluttered, and it’s organized in a professional way.
This makes navigation easy.
Now their customers can find what they’re looking for faster and start adding items to their carts.
Look at how the CTA button changes when a customer views an item:
Now the button is even more apparent because it’s red.
It stands out, so it's clear what the customer should do.
Don’t hide your CTA buttons.
It should be easy for customers to navigate and add items to their carts.
Big, bold, clear, and colorful call-to-action buttons can help improve your conversion rates.
7. INCLUDE USER REVIEWS
Consider this: 88% of shoppers say they trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.
That means nearly 90% of people trust a stranger's opinion online as if it were coming from their spouses, best friends, or family members.
Furthermore, 39% of people say they read product reviews on a regular basis, and only 12% of customers say they don’t check online reviews.
Basically, this means customers want to see what their peers have to say.
Encourage customers to review products they’ve purchased, and display those reviews on your website.
Take a look at how Johnston & Murphy does this on their ecommerce site:
More reviews means more credibility.
Obviously, you’re going to say only great things about the products you’re selling.
But other customers will be truthful about their experiences.
That’s why consumers trust these ratings and reviews.
Customers share personal stories about the uses of the products they purchased and the reasons for recommending them (or not).
Notice I also highlighted the chat option on the Johnston & Murphy website—a topic I covered earlier.
Don’t be upset if not all your reviews are absolutely perfect.
You’ll get some negative comments.
It happens.
Those negative remarks can actually help you. It shows shoppers your reviews are legitimate.
Hopefully, the positive ratings will largely outweigh the negative ones.
This will help you get more shoppers to convert and complete the purchase process.
8. ADD A VIDEO DEMONSTRATION
If your products are unique, include video demonstrations showing how to use them.
Here’s an example from the Training Masks website:
They have workout videos to show people how to use their product to train harder and smarter.
Since this product isn’t something you see every day, the majority of the population may not know how it works.
But don’t think you can’t use videos even if you’re selling something simple.
For example, everyone knows how to use a piece of luggage, right?
Well, that doesn’t stop Thule from including a video demonstration on their website:
The video shows all the hidden compartments of the bag.
It also shows customers how they can adjust the handles and straps and utilize other features.
In addition, you can include a video demonstration highlighting the features that set your product apart from similar products.
Even if you’re selling something simple, like a shirt, a video can show customers the item’s versatility for different occasions, scenarios, or weather conditions.
You just have to get creative.
CONCLUSION
Your ecommerce site should be making more money.
Don’t settle for average.
Take steps to improve your conversion rates.
You can make subtle changes or additions to your site that will get more people to make purchases.
Start by simplifying the checkout process. You’ll get higher conversions with fewer steps.
Emphasize items that are on sale or discounted.
Include multiple photos of each product from different angles.
Allow your customers to chat online with customer service representatives to answer any questions they might have while shopping.
This will give your customers the same feeling they get whenever they are shopping inside a brick-and-mortar store.
Don’t restrict payment options. Offer as many payment methods as possible to appeal to a wider audience of prospective shoppers.
Your CTA buttons need to be big, bold, and clear.
When placed in proper locations, these buttons can help you get more conversions.
Make sure you include customer reviews for all your products.
These recommendations can encourage others to make a purchase.
Create videos showing detailed explanations of how your products work.
This is the perfect chance for you to highlight the unique features of your product.
These tips are easy to implement, and they won’t cost you much money at all.
Trust me, they work.
You can start applying some of these elements to your website right away.
_What have you done to increase conversion rates on your ecommerce site?_

Businesses need to look toward the future to survive and thrive.
I’m sure you’ve got an effective strategy in place that targets Millennials or Baby Boomers.
But it’s time to shift your focus to a younger generation.
The term _Generation_ _Z_ describes people born after Millennials.
They may also be referred to as:
* Post-Millennials
* Homeland Generation
* iGeneration
Although there isn’t an exact date range, it typically refers to anyone born after the mid to late 1990s.
That means the oldest members of this generation are in college or just graduating.
The reason why this information is so important is because they are starting to enter the workforce.
With a steady annual salary, Gen Z will now have more buying power.
Extra money in their pockets means marketing experts need to target this group.
There’s a big opportunity here for increased and sustainable growth for your company, regardless of the industry.
That’s why Generation Z marketing made my list of the top marketing trends for 2018.
If you’ve never targeted Gen Z before and you’re not sure how to get started, I can help you out.
I’ve used research-backed data to identify some of the top characteristics and habits of this generation.
I’ll also explain in detail how you can use this information to your advantage as a marketer.
Here’s what you need to know.
UNDERSTAND THE KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GENERATION Z AND MILLENNIALS
First, you need to be able to distinguish the difference between Gen Z and Millennials.
While on the surface these two groups may have some similarities, they needed to be targeted differently from a marketing perspective.
For example, look at how much younger an average Gen Z person was when they got their first smartphone compared to Millennials:
It’s no secret that our world is trending in a mobile direction. Marketers need to accommodate the needs of mobile users.
But Gen Z are the first group to have a smartphone throughout their entire teenage years.
This means they are reliant on these devices more than anyone else, including Millennials.
Generation Z are impatient, and their attention span reflects this.
The average attention span of a Millennial is 12 seconds, but it’s only 8 seconds for Gen Z.
That’s why they use more digital platforms simultaneously.
Millennials typically use three screens at the same time, while generation Z bounces between _five screens_ at the same time.
Gen Z also doesn’t care about customer loyalty programs the same way Millennials do.
I’ll go into greater detail about this concept later on.
Generation Z also embraces influencer marketing more than Millennials do:
Their engagement with YouTube creators shows how much they value the opinions of regular people as opposed to celebrities.
Your company may want to consider working with more micro-influencers on social media to promote your brand.
LEARN HOW TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS ON SNAPCHAT
If you want to target Gen Z, you can’t afford to ignore Snapchat anymore.
About 71% of Gen Z use Snapchat on a daily basis.
Furthermore, 51% of this group use it about 11 times per day.
Take a look at some of the top companies that promote sponsored content on Snapchat’s discover page:
I’m sure you recognize these logos.
The fact that these major companies have already identified and adapted to this trend should show you how the market has shifted to this platform.
You can use Snapchat for brand exposure.
As we saw earlier, Gen Z don't have a long attention span.
Just seeing your company’s logo could be enough to remind them of your brand.
In addition to using sponsored ads, your company should also have an account.
Add pictures and videos to your story on a daily basis.
Here’s an example.
Sour Patch Kids came up with a Snapchat campaign after partnering with Logan Paul, a YouTube personality.
The campaign delivered:
* 120,000 new followers
* 26,000 screenshots
* 583,000 impressions on the first day
* 6.8 million impressions for the last story of the week
Once you gain those initial followers, continue to promote your brand using Snapchat as a platform.
USE INSTAGRAM STORIES
One of the reasons why Instagram stories are so popular is because of their similarity to Snapchat.
Instagram realized how successful the idea of “disappearing content” was and added it to their platform.
You can add photos and videos to your Instagram story, and they will disappear after 24 hours.
In less than two years, Instagram stories have blown Snapchat out of the water:
Use your Instagram story to share exclusive content with your followers.
Even if you’re not posting a picture or video on your Instagram profile each day, you should at least be utilizing your story.
As I said earlier, Gen Z love micro-influencers.
Try to get those influencers to take over your account.
Alternatively, you can ask them to promote your brand on their personal stories.
Take your followers behind the scenes of your daily operations.
Showcase your production facilities, and introduce your staff.
This connects with people and shows them the human side of your company.
The marketing opportunities are endless with Instagram stories.
You just need to get creative and think outside the box to gain exposure.
ENCOURAGE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Part of being a great marketer means you need to understand how your target audience thinks.
Generation Z have an entrepreneurial spirit.
In fact, 72% of teens in the United States say they want to start their own business one day.
If this group follows through with their goals, it will drastically change the future of our country’s workforce.
That’s because 61% of this group want to start a business directly out of college.
But Gen Z don't value education as much as other generations do.
Only 64% of Generation Z plan to pursue a college degree compared to 71% of Millennials--a seven-percent difference.
It’s possible they don’t think they need college education to be successful.
This might be based on the rising cost of college tuition.
These numbers are rising higher than the country’s inflation rate.
The high costs could have an impact on Gen Z’s attitude towards higher education.
But with so many resources available on the Internet, Gen Z feel like they don’t need college to be successful or start their own business.
What does this mean for your company?
Try to come up with clever ways to engage those entrepreneurial minds.
Consider partnering with successful entrepreneurs who didn’t go to college as brand ambassadors for your company.
You could also try to create a value proposition that speaks to young entrepreneurs.
GENERATION Z HAS AN INFLUENCE ON PURCHASES THEIR PARENTS MAKE
Market products and services to Generation Z even if they are not consumed by teens.
Here's a graph to show you what I mean:
Most marketers wouldn’t think to pitch a family vacation, cell phone, or car to an 11-year-old.
But research shows that Generation Z has an influence on household purchases.
This generation is resourceful.
They may be more likely to research products and read reviews than their parents.
Just because they may not have the personal funds or resources to buy home furnishings or a plane ticket doesn’t mean your company can’t target these kids.
Their opinions may be the deciding factor between a purchase from your company or your competitor.
FACEBOOK SHOULDN’T BE YOUR TOP PRIORITY
Facebook always tends to be the king in terms of social media marketing platforms.
But Generation Z don't feel the same way about Facebook as other generations.
In fact, Facebook lost over 25% of users between the ages of 13 and 17 on their platform over a three-year stretch.
Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not saying you need to abandon your Facebook marketing strategy.
As you can see from this graph, the growth rate is rising for every other age group.
There’s still a ton of users out there for you.
But with that said, this shouldn’t be your primary strategy if you’re targeting just Generation Z.
Campaigns solely designed for Gen Z should be used on other social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube.
GENERATION Z WANT TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE WORLD
Your company needs to be conscious of the environment, planet, and society.
According to a recent study, 60% of Gen Z want to positively change the future of our world.
Only 39% of Millennials feel the same way.
Furthermore, about 25% of teens today are already involved in volunteer work.
This is great news for the future of our world.
It seems like every time you turn on the TV or read the paper, all you hear is negative stories.
But Gen Z want to make a difference:
Take a look at these numbers.
To stay engaged with this group, your company needs to do its part as well.
Talk about any positive impact you are making in the community.
Are you working with charities?
Do your employees volunteer?
Come up with a mission that contributes to the greater good of the society.
Embrace it.
TOMS Shoes is a great example of this marketing strategy.
For every pair of shoes bought on their website, TOMS donates a pair of shoes to a child in need.
It’s a powerful campaign that speaks to generations who care about the future of our world.
QUALITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BRAND LOYALTY
Does this sound like your current marketing strategy?
_Acquire new customers for as cheap as possible and retain them through customer loyalty programs._
It’s not a bad idea, and it’s probably been working for a while.
Once a customer becomes loyal to your brand, they’ll continue to support you for years to come.
They may start buying different product lines within your company, spend more money with each purchase, and even be willing to pay for more expensive products.
But you may not have as much luck with this strategy if you’re targeting Generation Z.
Look at how Gen Z view brand loyalty compared to Millennials:
This means you may have to put more effort into your current retention strategies for Gen Z.
Find ways to make them loyal.
There’s another way to interpret this information.
You could save your marketing dollars and not dump money on loyalty reward programs for Gen Z.
This decision is totally up to you.
It depends on your current retention and acquisition rates.
One of the best ways to retain Gen Z customers is through meaningful interactions.
A recent study showed that 44% of Gen Z are interested in contributing ideas to products and designs for their favorite brands.
Take advantage of this.
Use surveys, interviews, and focus groups with your customers to come up with new ideas.
If your customers contributed to the design, they are more likely to feel a connection with your brand and stay loyal.
Another statistic of interest is that 61% of Generation Z consumers are drawn to new brands.
Startup companies need to start targeting this generation right away in an effort to build brand loyalty.
UPLOAD CONTENT TO YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Generation Z love YouTube.
I discussed this earlier when I talked about micro-influencers.
I also showed you the success that Sour Patch Kids had using a YouTube creator in one of their marketing campaigns.
On average, Gen Z watch two to four hours of YouTube content each day.
They enjoy this much more than cable TV, which only accounts for about 30 minutes of their daily video consumption.
So if you’re relying on TV commercials to reach Gen Z, you’re wasting your money.
Instead, you need to increase your YouTube presence.
I love using YouTube as a promotional channel because it’s so easy to repurpose those videos.
It’s easy to add YouTube videos to your website or emails and incorporate them into your overall content marketing strategy.
FOCUS ON THEIR LOVE OF VIDEO GAMES
Sixty-six percent of kids between the ages of 6 and 11 say that gaming is their primary source of entertainment.
Furthermore, Gen Z own more video game systems than every other generation.
But your company doesn’t make video games.
You may not even be in the technology or entertainment industry.
What does this mean for you?
Get creative.
That’s the fun part of marketing.
Come up with clever ways to use this information to your advantage.
For example, you could try to use product placement in video games.
You could also partner with specific games or gaming systems.
Sponsor an event or release of a new game.
If you sell certain electronics, advertise them for video game usage.
Things like microphones, headsets, routers, Wi-Fi extenders are all important to young gamers.
CONCLUSION
Right now, Generation Z are still an untapped market.
While companies have started targeting this group, there is still a huge opportunity for your brand to get a piece of the action.
You just need to understand how this new generation behaves, thinks, and consumes.
Don’t approach them the same way you have Millennials. As we saw, these two groups are different.
Use Snapchat and Instagram story to promote your brand.
Recognize that Generation Z value entrepreneurship and want to have a positive impact on the world.
They even have an influence over purchases made by their parents.
Gen Z are less active on Facebook, and they care about the quality of interactions with companies more than brand loyalty.
They love watching content on YouTube and playing video games.
If you follow this guide, your company can benefit from a new income stream.
_What marketing platforms are you using to target Generation Z?_

Don’t let money stop you from pursuing your dreams.
If you want to start your own business but don’t have the funding, you can still get it off the ground in a number of ways.
As an entrepreneur myself, I admire anyone who wants to create a company.
It’s not easy.
In fact, only half of small businesses in the United States will survive through their fifth year of operation.
Furthermore, just 30% of those businesses make it through ten years.
Based on this information, it’s clear that failure is more frequent than success when it comes to startup companies.
So I commend you for wanting to pursue this path.
While running a startup may be difficult, it’s also extremely rewarding.
You’ll learn a lot along the way. There are plenty of things I wish I knew before starting my first company.
But getting your startup off the ground is the first step.
Like with most aspects of business, you'll need some money to do this.
If you’ve never been through this process before, it may seem intimidating.
Not sure where to start?
There’s no one right answer.
In fact, you can get money from multiple sources.
I’ve outlined 9 ways for you to get your startup funded.
I’ll let you decide which ones are best for your startup company.
1. CREATE A DETAILED BUSINESS PLAN
Before you do anything else, you need to have a clear understanding of how you plan to operate your business.
A business plan will increase your chances of securing funds:
Companies that have a business plan also have higher growth rates.
Here’s why.
First of all, it’ll be hard for you to raise money from anyone without a business plan.
Different types of investors, which we’ll discuss shortly, will need to see financial projections before they even consider giving you a dime.
This plan will also set you up for success.
Once you get into the daily grind of your business operations, you’ll always have your plan as a reference to remind you how to proceed.
You may forget some ideas a year or two down the road if you don’t have everything in writing.
Your business plan should have a clear description of your business.
Who are you?
What do you do?
It should also include a market analysis.
This will discuss information and research about your competitors as well as your target market.
You’ll also want to outline the organizational structure of your company.
Have clearly defined roles for managers and other positions within your organization.
Arguably the most important part of a business plan is the financials.
Do your best to include financial projections for the next three to five years:
Make sure your projections are realistic.
As you can see from the example above, this company doesn’t project profitability until the third year of operation.
That’s okay.
You don’t need to turn a profit on your first day or even your first year.
Just try your best to accurately predict your finances.
This section of the business plan will help you secure funding from other sources on our list as well.
2. VISIT YOUR LOCAL BANK
Go to the banks you use for your personal banking needs.
I recommend starting there because you already have a relationship with those companies.
Set up an appointment with a loan officer.
Show up to your meeting prepared.
Dress professionally. Bring your business plan.
Explain to the loan officer how much money you need and what it will be used for.
Depending on your situation, you may qualify for loans for certain aspects of your business, such as equipment.
If the bank denies your small business loan application, you could also try to get a personal line of credit from that institution.
You can use that line of credit to fund your initial business expenses.
Don’t quit after your first appointment.
You could try other banks and financial institutions if your first stop is unsuccessful.
3. SEEK HELP FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY
In the United States, friends and family are second on the list for top startup funding sources.
These are the people who love you and trust you.
Most importantly, they believe in you and your potential.
Don’t be afraid to ask your loved ones for a loan.
Plus, unlike with a bank, you’ll likely be able to get some money from your friends and family without having to pay any interest.
Who knows, if you’re lucky, you might even get funds as a gift.
So talk to your parents, siblings, grandparents, or even your rich uncle.
Just know there are some risks associated with this approach as well.
You definitely don’t want to take a loan your friends gave you in good faith and lose it.
That could put both of you in a very uncomfortable situation.
With that said, I’ve talked to some entrepreneurs who said this had the opposite effect on them.
Loans from their family contributed to their success because they had extra motivation to not lose the investment.
They didn’t want to let their loved ones down.
4. VENTURE CAPITALISTS (VCS)
You can also secure funds from venture capitalists.
VC firms invest in the early stages of your company in exchange for an equity share.
If you decide to take this route, be prepared to give away a portion of your business.
That’s not always a bad thing.
If VCs have some skin in the game, they may be able to provide you with other resources that can contribute to the success of the company.
But just understand that smart VCs will only structure these deals if they are in their favor.
They don’t want to make a return on their investment in 30 years.
VCs want to make their money back, plus some, as soon as possible.
The likelihood of you receiving VC funding largely depends on your industry.
As you can see from this data, venture capital firms are typically drawn to startups within software and technology sectors.
So if your startup company is a local pizza shop, you probably won’t have luck with VCs.
5. ANGEL INVESTORS
Although these terms are often used interchangeably, angel investors differ from VCs.
While angel investors can take an equity share of your startup in exchange for their investment, their funding can also be exchanged for convertible debt.
It’s not uncommon for these investors to be entrepreneurs or former entrepreneurs themselves.
Although money is their motivation, they are more likely to be genuinely interested in your business as well as the growth and development of particular industries.
If you find the right angel investor, you may benefit from their expert advice and management skills.
It’s more common for angel investors to supply funding to businesses when they are still in the early stages, whereas VCs typically look to get involved a little bit later.
Unlike a VC firm that has a committee and advisors working together, an angel investor may make a decision on their own.
They may simply like your plan, trust your goals, and believe that your business will be successful.
That's why it's important for you to be able to articulate your business plan well.
A short meeting over coffee or lunch with an angel investor might be all it takes to get them on board to fund your startup.
6. CROWDFUNDING
Take advantage of the resources available to you online.
You can use crowdfunding websites to raise capital.
While most people think of Kickstarter when it comes to these platforms, there are some alternative websites you can consider as well.
Here are a few popular choices for startup companies:
* AngelList
* CircleUp
* CrowdFunder
* Fundable
All of these sites operate in more or less the same way.
Some put you in a pool of professional investors, while others let you raise money from anyone.
If your project is promoted properly, you can raise a ton of money.
Here’s an example to show you what I’m talking about.
In 2012, a company called Oculus Rift launched a campaign on Kickstarter with a goal of $250,000.
The company aimed to produce virtual reality headsets.
They ended up raising $2.4 million dollars, which was nearly ten times their goal.
It’s safe to say that funding was successful.
The money led to rapid success and growth of the company.
Just two years later, Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion.
It just goes to show crowdfunding isn’t just for college students or small side projects.
There’s real money to be found out there.
You just need to look for it.
Here’s a look at some of the other top crowdfunded startups in terms of capital raised:
But just because you secure millions in funding doesn’t mean your company will automatically be successful.
Pebble Watches raised over $10 million in 2012, which largely exceeded their $100,000 goal.
But a highly competitive space made it difficult for this company to stand the test of time.
In 2016, Pebble announced they were ceasing daily operations. They stopped producing watches and honoring warranties.
The company folded.
7. DIP INTO YOUR PERSONAL SAVINGS
You could also consider funding the startup company on your own.
If you’ve got money saved up for a down payment on a house or some other big purchase, you could use it to launch your business instead.
It’s risky because you won’t have any money to fall back on if your business is unsuccessful.
But if you’re willing to bet on yourself, there are plenty of positive factors to this route.
First of all, you won’t have to give up any equity in your company.
You get to keep all the profits instead of sharing them with investors.
You also won’t have to pay any interest on a line of credit or bank loan.
If you pay for everything yourself, you won’t be letting down friends or family members who may have loaned you money.
This isn’t an option for everyone.
But if you have an extra $20,000 in the bank, consider using it if your startup costs are low.
8. LOOK FOR A STRATEGIC PARTNER
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Two heads are better than one.”
Getting a strategic partner for your startup company can help accelerate the development of your business.
In fact, over 80% of companies say partnerships are essential to their growth.
Your partner has a bank account as well.
Between the two of you, you might have enough money saved to get your startup off the ground.
If not, it’s another person to help you secure funding through the other methods I've outlined in this post.
Partners also reduce your liability. You won’t be on the hook for as much if things go south.
On a flip side, you’ll only get half the profits.
You may get even less if you give away equity to other investors.
Make sure you find someone you can trust.
While your strategic partner may be able to bring new ideas and solutions to the table, there can also be conflicts and disagreements.
9. TRY TO MINIMIZE INITIAL BUSINESS COSTS
Reevaluate your startup costs.
You may not need to raise as much money as you initially thought.
Make the money you already have last as long as possible.
Instead of paying for an office, you could work from your home or a shared office space.
Pay for goods and services as you go instead of paying upfront for large quantities of products.
Use cost-effective materials.
Think outside the box.
And while this may not work for every startup, you can also barter.
Instead of paying for certain products or services, offer your own services in return.
This may be successful if you’re working with other startup companies in a similar to yours situation.
Just do your best to keep costs as low as possible.
CONCLUSION
Starting a new business is exciting.
But it’s not cheap.
Not everyone has enough money to get their startup company off the ground.
If you can’t fund your business on your own, try getting a loan or line of credit from your local bank.
You could always ask your friends and family for help.
Venture capitalists, angel investors, strategic partners, and crowdfunding platforms are also great options to consider.
It’s important that you always start with a strong business plan.
Come up with realistic financial projections.
This will make it easier for you to get money from investors.
You also need to keep all your costs as low as possible to make your funds last until you can get a steady income stream.
Follow these tips, and you’ll be on the right path toward raising money for your company.
Good luck!
_What strategies are you using to secure funding for your startup company? _

Everyone wants more sales.
Regardless of your industry or current situation of your company, increased conversions will help your business grow and prosper.
But wanting higher sales conversions and actually getting them are two different things.
Sure, your advertising team probably has various content marketing strategies in place.
It’s important you have a proper grasp of the reasons behind these tactics.
Are the advertisements targeting an actionable audience?
That’s one of the major differences between retargeting strategies and other promotional methods.
Here’s the thing.
Not every customer takes a simple path to complete the purchase.
It’s not always as simple as someone viewing your website for the first time, becoming interested in your brand, and buying something during the same visit.
While that would be a great scenario, the reality is this process takes time.
Creating a customer journey map can help give you a better understanding of how the buying process works.
Here’s a visual representation of how consumers interact with a brand before, during, and after they make a purchase:
Take a look at all those touch point examples in the awareness and consideration stages.
It shows that the buying process isn’t a straight line.
A consumer may stumble upon your website one day, browse it a bit, and leave.
Maybe a month or two later, they read one of your blog posts and subscribe to your email list.
They could even pick up the phone and contact a member of your sales team to ask some questions about your products and services.
Still, it may take this person another few weeks or so to finally buy something.
As a marketer, you need to anticipate this behavior and aid buyers through this unconventional process.
One of the best ways to do this is through retargeting ads.
I’ll explain everything you need to know about retargeting so you can increase sales conversions for your company.
MAKE SURE YOUR RETARGETING STRATEGIES HAVE A GOAL
First, I want to cover the basics.
Retargeting ads are designed for people who have already visited your website.
You can also target customers who are in your database from a lead generation campaign.
These ads aren’t as simple as traditional banner ads that target everyone.
There are seven different types of retargeting methods:
With so many different ways to approach this marketing tactic, it’s important you have a clear goal in mind.
If you’ve never done this before, I don’t recommend trying to implement all these strategies at the same time.
Pick one and go with it.
Start by targeting people who:
* have Google searches relevant to your brand
* consume content that’s the same as that of your current customers
* had an impression from a custom advertisement on social media
* visited your website but didn’t make a purchase
* are on your email list
Knowing whom you’re going to target will make the rest easier.
Now you’ll have a better understanding of where these customers are coming from.
The goal of your retargeting strategy should be to create awareness and increase conversions.
As you saw earlier, people aren’t always ready to buy something the first time they visit your website.
In fact, 92% of consumers aren’t looking to make a purchase the first time they check out a website.
That’s why creating brand awareness needs to be one of your goals.
Even if the consumer has already heard of you and is familiar with your company, you need to keep reminding them about what you can provide.
This will make it much easier to get conversions, which is your primary goal.
Your company may have some other goals as well.
It could be driving customers to specific products, subscriptions, or services.
Just make sure those goals are clearly defined before you start.
That way everyone is on the same page, and it will be easier to measure how successful these campaigns are.
USE PIXEL-BASED AND LIST-BASED RETARGETING
Pixel-based retargeting is one of the most common ways to execute your plan.
Here’s an example of how Dohop implements this method:
Once someone visits your website, a browser cookie is stored to retain that information.
This is how you’re able to find people who have visited your website.
Now you need to get a retargeting platform.
The cookie will notify the platform and provide that consumer with your ads based on what pages they viewed on your website.
PIXEL-BASED RETARGETING is great because of its timing.
People will start seeing your ads almost right after they’ve left your website.
This keeps your brand fresh in their minds.
But the pixel-based strategy isn’t foolproof.
It’s completely based on cookies from the people visiting your website.
If you’re not getting web traffic in the first place, you won’t have anyone to retarget.
LIST-BASED RETARGETING focuses on people who are already in your database.
It’s not as common as pixel-based, but it definitely has plenty of benefits.
You can even focus on your existing customers.
Segment these people into different groups to make your advertisements more relevant to them.
I’ll go into greater detail about your current customers and list segmentation shortly.
As I said before, for pixel-based retargeting to work, you’ll need a platform to communicate with those web cookies you acquire after someone visits your site.
Some of the top options to consider are:
* Perfect Audience
* AdRoll
* ReTargeter
These are some of the benefits you get from Perfect Audience:
Check out these websites to see which one best fits the needs of your company.
But for the most part, you’ll notice a lot of similarities between different platforms.
UPDATE YOUR ADS
One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make is running the same retargeting ads over and over again.
Your campaigns aren’t going to convert 100% of the time.
It just won’t happen.
Here’s something else to keep in mind.
Consumers aren’t stupid. They don’t think it’s a coincidence they are seeing these ads right after visiting your website.
So, switch it up.
If your current ad isn’t getting someone to convert after they’ve been exposed to it for a few weeks, you’ll need to run another one.
Here’s an example.
Take a look at this retargeting ad from Freshdesk:
It’s simple and has a clear goal.
Look at the CTA button.
They are trying to entice the customer to download something they offer.
This could be targeted toward people who visited a specific landing page on their website.
This ad is corresponding to a browsing cookie for that page.
But what happens after someone sees this ad for a few weeks without converting?
Will it eventually work if you keep showing it to them for another few weeks?
Probably not.
They’ve seen it. And for one reason or another, they’re not interested.
Freshdesk recognizes this, so they switch it up.
There are major differences between this ad and the first one above.
Rather than getting the customer to download something, they are trying to encourage them to sign up for a free trial of their software.
Offering something different can potentially increase the chances of getting a conversion.
You should also A/B test your ads.
In the example above, Freshdesk could move their CTA button or change its color to test which version will deliver higher conversions.
But the key here is to make sure your ads don’t get stale.
A/B testing will also help ensure your conversion funnel is optimized.
CREATE CUSTOMIZED LANDING PAGES
When a customer clicks on one of your ads, it shouldn’t bring them to the homepage of your website.
That’s ineffective.
Instead, make sure you send them to a landing page directly connected to the ad they clicked on.
Here’s an example of an ad I saw on Facebook:
It’s obvious this post is directed towards men.
The title of the page says _men_, and the models are wearing men’s clothing.
But if you go to the Lululemon homepage, it’s primarily directed toward women.
Sending customers here would be ineffective for that Facebook campaign.
Lululemon recognizes this, so they don’t do it.
Instead, the Facebook ad goes to a customized landing page designed for men.
Here’s what happened when I clicked on the retargeting ad:
This page speaks to me more than the home page.
It’s also directly related to the Facebook ad.
They are promoting discounted men’s clothing.
Apply this concept to your retargeting strategy.
If you’re pitching a specific product or service, make sure the landing page matches the ad.
When customers have to search your website to find what they are looking for, it will negatively impact your sales conversions.
FOCUS ON YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS
Retargeting campaigns don’t need to draw attention to only new customers.
I’ve said it before: you can increase revenue without acquiring new customers.
This is the perfect opportunity for you to reach out to email subscribers who haven’t been active in a while.
As I hinted at earlier, that’s why you need to segment your email lists.
Segment your subscribers based on their interests and activity.
Send them retargeted emails based on their previous purchases or browsing history you've collected through their customer profile.
The benefit of retargeting your current or old customers is that they have another level of familiarity with your brand.
They know more about your company than the people who have visited your website but never bought anything.
You can also try to cross-sell or upsell to these customers.
Here’s a great example of an ad I saw from American Express:
I’m already an Amex member and have one of their credit cards.
But they are trying to pitch a new card to me.
Rather than getting a new customer, it’s easy for them to retarget me by offering a card I don’t have.
If this doesn’t work, a month or so from now, I could potentially see a different ad offering another card I don’t have.
CONCLUSION
The audience and target market for your advertisements should be ready to act.
That’s why retargeting campaigns are so effective.
You focus on people already familiar with your brand and interested in buying something.
If you use pixel-based retargeting strategies, you’ll be focusing on website visitors who didn’t convert.
Increased website traffic doesn’t necessarily lead to sales conversions.
That’s why your retargeting campaigns shouldn’t be aimed at just anyone.
Have a clear goal for your campaign.
Make sure you find the right software and service to help your website utilize cookie information left by the visitors looking for a product or service.
If a retargeting ad doesn’t convert, don’t give up on that customer yet.
Just switch it up after a few weeks with a different offer.
When someone clicks on your ad, make sure it doesn’t bring them to your homepage.
Instead, have customized landing pages for each ad.
If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to increase sales conversions through retargeting strategies.
_Will you focus on pixel-based or list-based retargeting first?_

Every consumer is different.
Some people like to shop online, and others prefer shopping in stores.
Some customers spend days or even weeks researching a product before making a purchase, while others buy something without any prior intention at all.
This is called an impulse purchase.
Believe it or not, more people are guilty of this than you would think.
Have you ever bought something impulsively?
I’m willing to bet you have.
In fact, 84% of Americans admit they made an impulse buy.
How much are they spending?
If someone buys a magazine or a candy bar while standing in line at a grocery store, that counts as an impulse purchase.
But that’s really nothing to get excited over.
Consider this, however: 54% of consumers have spent more than $100 on an impulse purchase, and 20% have spent over $1,000.
Those are the numbers that can motivate marketers and retailers.
As an example, let’s take a look at something that everyone buys.
Clothes.
Here’s some data comparing planned and impulse clothing purchases grouped by age and household income of shoppers:
It appears nobody is immune to this.
You might think the more money someone makes, the more likely they are to spend money impulsively.
But based on this data, that is not the case.
There’s only a 2% difference between consumers with an annual income less than $25k and more than $75k when it comes to impulsive clothing purchases.
Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store location or an ecommerce website, you can increase your revenue if you learn how to target impulse shoppers.
As you can see from the numbers above, impulse buyers aren’t hard to find.
But you need to position your brand, products, and marketing campaigns accordingly to encourage these people to spend more money.
I’ll show you how.
UNDERSTAND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF IMPULSIVE CONSUMERS
Younger generations are more likely to make an impulsive purchase.
Studies show nine out of 10 Millennials have purchased something impulsively.
That number gets even higher when you focus on the youngest of that generation.
Under the age of 25, 95% of consumers say they have made an impulse purchase.
But why?
It has to do with psychology and personality traits.
According to marketing experts Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, consumers can be divided into four personality categories:
Impulse buyers fall into the spontaneous category on this graphic.
They are more emotional as opposed to methodical thinkers.
Impulsive shoppers are willing to take risks and respond to visual cues such as color schemes.
Studies suggest that impulse buying translates to gratification.
Those who seek self-gratification and approval from others are more likely to have impulsive tendencies.
The risks associated with an impulse purchase can suggest the buyer may not consider the consequences of their spending.
They may not realize the item puts them over budget, given their income and other expenses.
While some people are more susceptible to impulse purchases than others, the data I showed you earlier indicates the _majority_ of consumers have made impulse buys.
This means these traits are within all of us.
As a marketer, you need to find ways to exploit those tendencies.
If you do this correctly, you could turn just about anyone into an impulsive customer.
FOCUS ON THE RIGHT PRODUCTS
First, you have to figure out what products you want to entice people to buy.
Ideally, these products will have a high profit margin for your company.
Depending on your business, you might be selling hundreds or even thousands of items.
Which ones are the _right_ products to emphasize?
Take a look at how men and women shop impulsively:
Decide whom you’re targeting.
If you’re targeting impulsive men, you want to focus on products they could buy for their spouses.
But if you’re targeting women, you should concentrate on items suitable for children.
You’ll want to strategically place these items in your store or your website, but we’ll go into greater detail about that later.
Not every product you sell should be marketed as an impulse buy.
Some items are necessities. People will buy those regardless.
For example, let’s say you own a home furnishings store.
Your primary target market is new homeowners.
You know they'll need certain items for their houses.
Things such as a bed, couch, and kitchen table are needed in a home.
But an impulsive buy could be an ottoman for their living room or an extra television for the bedroom.
Those aren’t necessities, but consumers may be swayed to buy them even if they had no intention of doing so in the first place.
Look at this bedroom set from Bed Bath & Beyond:
Items such as the painting, extra lights, throw pillows, rug, and artificial flowers would be good products for impulsive buyers.
Consumers may visit a store looking to buy bed sheets, which is a necessity, and end up leaving with artificial flowers and a painting, which are luxury and decorative pieces.
CREATE FOMO (FEAR OF MISSING OUT)
Promotional campaigns are a great way to target impulsive shoppers.
Discounts, deals, and coupons available only for a limited time might do the trick.
The concept of FOMO makes the consumer think, “If I don’t act now, I’ll lose out on this opportunity.”
Now that you’ve narrowed down the products you want to focus on, it’s time to figure out how to advertise them.
Create a sense of urgency by saying there is a limited quantity remaining.
Take a look at this promotional email from GetResponse:
They use certain keywords to create FOMO, which can appeal to an impulsive shopper:
* Only 500 accounts remaining
* Don’t miss out
* 40% off
* Summer sale
Come up with ways to incorporate this strategy into your business.
For example, let’s say you have a retail store located inside of a shopping mall.
A consumer may be at the mall for something else, having no intention of stepping foot into your store.
You have to draw them in when they are walking by.
Take a look at this window display sign outside of a Banana Republic storefront:
It doesn’t just say "40% off."
The sign says “today only” to entice impulse shoppers to walk inside.
Even if they had no intention of buying clothes, a shopper might think that 40% off is too good of a deal to pass up on.
That’s the idea behind creating urgency and FOMO.
LEARN HOW TO PLACE ITEMS STRATEGICALLY
Placement is key for both brick-and-mortar stores as well as ecommerce sites.
Even though our society is moving toward digital shopping, the majority of impulse purchases still take place in physical store locations.
In fact, 68% of impulse buys occur in-store as opposed to online.
Bu that doesn’t mean ecommerce stores should shy away from targeting impulse buyers.
Research suggests impulsive online sales jumped 60% over a period of time when total online sales increased by 12.6%.
Those numbers are extremely encouraging for online retailers.
Now that you’ve identified which products are the best to focus on to trigger impulsive behavior in your prospective customers, you need to make sure they are placed properly.
On an ecommerce site, you should put these items on your homepage.
Don’t make shoppers go searching for something.
That defeats the purpose.
You want someone to stumble upon your website, see something attractive, and buy it.
Check out the SAXX website:
The items are clearly displayed on their homepage.
In addition to offering these products at a discounted rate, SAXX used FOMO to entice impulse buyers as well.
“Get your hands on these seasonal styles _before they’re gone_.”
When people visit their website, they may end up purchasing something they don’t really need and never intended to buy.
Those of you with a retail store location need to apply the same idea to your layout.
Impulsive items shouldn’t be hidden in the aisles.
Present these at the end of a row, on a separate table, or display areas.
Put items near the register so customers see them on their way out or while waiting in line.
Remember what I said earlier about the differences between male and female shoppers?
Based on that information, you could display some women’s products near the men’s section of your store to entice men to buy for their wives.
You could position some children’s items near the women’s section to encourage women to buy for their kids.
SIMPLIFY THE BUYING PROCESS
Once someone decides to make an impulse purchase, you don’t want to give them any chance to change their mind.
The buying process needs to be as fast and easy as possible.
For example, let’s say you have only display models of a certain product in your store.
For the customer to buy the product, they’ll have to pick it up at your warehouse or visit another store.
Those products shouldn’t be aimed at impulse shoppers.
There are too many extra steps giving them the opportunity to back out.
Have you ever been inside an IKEA store?
IKEA sells furniture and accessories for every area of your home.
Their retail store operation works like this.
You walk through different display areas of each room of a house.
If you see something you like, you write down the item number from the corresponding tag, which I’ve pointed out on the image above.
After you walk through the entire store, you locate the item in the warehouse, according to the tag information.
IKEA is successful on an international scale, so it’s a great business model.
However, this process is not set up to target impulse buyers.
It’s too long. There are too many steps and too many opportunities for the buyer to change their mind.
Those of you with an ecommerce store need to design your site so that the customer can finish their checkout in just a few clicks.
Don’t ask them to create an account or fill out unnecessary information.
Just ask for their name, address, and payment information.
That’s all you need to complete the sale.
PROVIDE EASE OF ACCESS TO CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Great customer service can help drive a sale, especially for an impulse buyer.
But your company needs to provide the consumer with easy access to a customer service representative.
If you have a retail store, make sure your staff are properly trained to assist customers while they are walking through your store.
They should let customers know if an item is on sale or if you’re running a special promotion.
It’s always important for you to clearly state your shipping and return policies as well.
Take a look at the impact these policies have on encouraging online sales:
If the customer knows the item will ship free and they have the option to return it, they are more likely to buy the item.
Make sure your company prioritizes customer service and has representatives available online, over the phone, and in-store to communicate with your customers.
CONCLUSION
Businesses can increase their revenues by learning how to encourage impulsive shopping behavior.
Although certain personality types are more likely to make an impulse purchase, the vast majority of consumers are guilty of this as well.
There are certain things you can do from a marketing perspective to trigger an impulsive response from your customers.
First, focus on the right products.
Then, use marketing campaigns to make the customer think they are missing out on a great deal if they don’t buy something.
Strategically place items in your store and on your website to entice a sale.
The buying process needs to be fast and easy.
Make sure you provide shoppers with excellent customer support options.
Follow these tips to increase your revenue.
_What types of products are you strategically placing on your website to target impulse buyers?_

I’m a big proponent of blogging.
It doesn’t matter what business you have or what industry you’re in, blogging can be used as a lead generation tool.
How many times do the same people visit your website?
Unless you have an ecommerce store, there’s no reason for a prospective customer to visit your website more than once or twice.
There are only so many times someone needs to read your “About Us” page or look up your contact information.
But if your website has a blog, it gives people a reason to keep coming back.
Even if these visitors aren’t necessarily buying anything yet, there are certain ways you can turn a blog reader into a customer.
First of all, if you’re not blogging, you need to start ASAP.
Next, you can focus on driving traffic to your new blog.
I consulted some businesses that didn't have a blog because they say it takes too much time.
Depending on the length, the average blog post should take you only a few hours to write.
Trust me, I know from experience, this time adds up based on the number of posts you’re writing per week.
But it needs to be part of your marketing strategy.
And it's not expensive. The only cost is your time.
You can even ask your staff members with excellent writing skills to write a few posts per week.
If you want to start pumping out lots of content, you may want to consider adding an in-house writer to your payroll.
Regardless of how you plan to delegate these tasks, blogging needs to be a top priority if you want to generate new leads without spending much money.
Here’s what you need to do to write blog posts that convert.
OFFER EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Why should someone read your blogs and not your competitors' blogs?
There are so many blogs out there in every industry.
In an oversaturated blogger market, your posts need to differ from those of your competition.
Studies tell us 55% of readers spend only 15 seconds reading an article.
But if you offer exclusive content, it will give them a reason to spend more time reading, which increases your chances of getting them to convert.
Here’s a great example from the Conversion XL blog:
This post stands out because of the exclusive feel of the headline.
Where else can you find 11 experts voicing their opinions and reviewing software tools in one place?
When people search for this subject on Google, they will be more likely to click on this post instead of other results.
But what if you don’t have access to a dozen experts in a particular industry?
No problem.
_You’re the expert_.
Use your own expertise to offer exclusive advice to your readers.
Master the art of storytelling, and tell a personal anecdote that generated results for your company, for example.
The more often you can do this, the more it will add credibility to your brand.
Once you’re known as an expert in a particular field from your blogs, it will be much easier for you to get leads.
ADD MORE SUBSCRIBERS TO YOUR EMAIL LIST
Are you looking for new ways to get more email subscribers?
Well, your blog is a great way to accomplish this.
Here’s how you can turn a reader into a customer.
Let’s say someone stumbles on one of your blog posts.
They skim through it and like the content, but now what?
That won’t necessarily make them buy something, sign up for a subscription, or pay for some other service you’re offering.
However, they may be interested in reading more of your posts in the future.
Rather than hoping they come back on their own, you can encourage them to join your email list to get content delivered straight to their inbox.
Jeff Bullas does this on his blog:
Jeff promotes his mailing list on the sidebar of his blog homepage and each individual blog post as well.
You can do this too.
Once you have the visitor's email address, you can do much more than just send them new blog posts.
If you have an ecommerce store, send some coupons to get a sale.
Once you have the leads, proceed with all your winning email marketing campaigns.
But first, you have to get these people hooked with your initial blog post.
PROMOTE YOUR BLOG ON OTHER MARKETING CHANNELS
I consult with companies that struggle to manage their social media accounts all the time.
They recognize the importance of posting on a regular basis, but they’re not quite sure what to write.
Well, your blog gives you a great excuse to stay active on social media every day.
When your fans and followers see your brand on their timeline, it helps create awareness.
Even if they aren’t customers yet, the constant awareness can eventually help drive a sale.
For example, let’s say your company sells niche products such as camping equipment.
The consumer may not need what you’re selling the first time they see your business online.
But maybe six months down the line, they decide to plan a camping trip.
If you’ve been flooding their social media timeline over the last several months, your company will be fresh in their mind when it’s time for them to buy a tent or sleeping bag.
I use this strategy as well. Take a look at my Twitter account:
I’m constantly promoting blog posts there.
This is also a great way to get new readers interested in your blog.
After they see a catchy headline on your Facebook or Twitter page, they will be more likely to join your email list.
USE THE COMMENTS SECTION TO FACILITATE A DISCUSSION
You’re making a big mistake if you don’t allow comments on your blog posts.
After someone reads your content, give them the opportunity to contribute to the conversation.
They may have some further insight to share, a personal story to tell, or a question to ask you.
It’s possible they'll disagree with some of your viewpoints and opinions on a topic as well. That’s okay.
One of the best ways to encourage comments is by ending your blog posts with a question.
Make sure the question is related to the topic.
This will help reassure the reader you actually want to hear from them.
Respond to all comments.
Here are some of the comments from a recent blog post I wrote about creating an actionable drip campaign:
A couple of readers had questions related to their own websites.
It’s a great way for you to keep the reader engaged.
You can offer a solution to these questions by suggesting certain products or services your company offers.
Readers may have a discussion among themselves in the comments section.
I see that happen on my posts all the time.
It’s encouraging, and it shows people are genuinely interested in the topics you’re writing about.
BE CONSISTENT
How often do you publish a new blog post on your website?
When you first started off, you may have been trying to put out articles every day.
But as the weeks passed and you haven't seen immediate results, you may have gotten discouraged and slowed down your pubishing. I've seen that happen.
Generating leads through blogs _takes time_.
You won’t see a drastic increase in your traffic or bottom line overnight.
Slowly but surely, you’ll notice a difference--as long as you stay consistent.
Here’s an example.
Let’s say you post a new article every day for a month.
You start to get some faithful readers.
But all of a sudden, you change your pattern and only post once a week.
Well, your regular audience will be disappointed if they don’t see any fresh content.
When it comes to blogging, more is always better.
A recent study suggests that the more frequently bloggers posted, the "stronger results" they observed:
Just make sure your quality doesn’t suffer.
You still need to write good content, or nobody will read it.
Publishing 20 articles per day doesn’t mean anything if all the posts are garbage.
Do what you can, but don’t overextend yourself.
If you’re just starting off, I think it’s reasonable to aim for one blog post per day.
See how that works for you and then go from there.
WRITE GUEST POSTS
You’re making a mistake if you’re turning down guest posting opportunities.
Look, I realize on the surface it may not sound very appealing.
I was skeptical about this too before I started guest posting.
It’s hard enough to put out content on your own website, why should you write for someone else for free?
Guest posting gives your brand great exposure.
Your content will be exposed to a new audience that may have never heard of you or your company otherwise.
You’ll also have plenty of chances to pitch your content and services throughout your post.
Websites will typically let you include information about you and your brand either before or after the article.
Take a look at this guest posting example from Crazy Egg:
Daniel Threlfall is one of the co-founders of Launch Your Copy.
Contributing to Crazy Egg gave his company exposure and drove more traffic to his website.
HYPERLINKS CAN DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR HIGHEST CONVERTING PAGES
I'll continue with my last point.
Throughout the content of your blog, you have the chance to add hyperlinks.
If you’re writing a guest post, you can have several links to your website in each article.
You can apply this same strategy to the posts on your site as well.
As you can see from reading my posts, including this one, I do this all the time.
I use hyperlinks to cite all my sources, but I also use internal hyperlinks to drive traffic to other blog posts and landing pages on my website.
Internal linking is great for your Google search ranking.
Getting ranked higher on Google can help you generate more leads.
LET OTHER BLOGGERS CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR WEBSITE
In addition to writing guest posts for other websites, you can also let other writers contribute to your blog.
Having guest posts on your own site can give you a bit of a break.
You can still publish an article a day without having to write.
When someone else writes a guest post for your blog, they may promote it to their own readers and share the post on their platforms.
This will give a wider audience a reason to check out your blog.
They may initially come just to read their favorite writer’s post, but there’s a good possibility they will read your content as well.
Look at how HubSpot encourages people to contribute to its website:
You can employ a similar strategy on your blog.
Plus, this could help you develop a relationship with other writers.
Maybe they will return the favor and let you write guest posts on their websites.
Just make sure their posts get approved before publishing.
You don’t want a guest writer to say anything that’s not aligned with your brand.
Even if you don’t write it, you are still associated with all the content on your website.
ENCOURAGE READERS TO SHARE YOUR CONTENT
If you’re a good writer, people will want to share your posts with their friends.
You want to make this as easy as possible for them.
All your posts should include social sharing icons.
Here’s what it looks like on my blog:
Again, this exposes your brand to a new audience.
Getting your readers to promote your content for free is a huge win for your company.
People are much more likely to share a recent, relevant, and informative blog post than just a random link to your website.
It’s a great way to get new leads.
CONCLUSION
Every website needs a blog.
It’s one of my favorite ways to generate leads.
Offer exclusive content in your posts to get readers hooked and keep them engaged.
Try to use your blog as a platform to get more subscribers to your email list.
New blog posts give you a great excuse to post on your social media accounts and other marketing channels.
Stay engaged with your readers by continuing the discussion in the comments section.
Write guest posts for other websites, and allow other writers to contribute to your site as well.
Just make sure you’re consistent with the frequency of your posts.
Use hyperlinks to drive traffic to your highest converting landing pages and improve your Google search ranking.
Provide social sharing options on your blog to encourage readers to share your content with their friends.
These tips will help you write better posts, generating more leads for your website.
_How many blog posts does your website publish per week? _

Every business needs an email marketing strategy.
You constantly need to try to grow your subscriber list so you can engage more and more customers.
But what kind of content should you be sending to the people on your email list?
Currently, you may be focusing on coupons and other promotions.
That’s great.
But you can take your email marketing strategy one step further by adding newsletters to your arsenal.
Some of you may already be emailing newsletters to your subscribers.
However, if you’re not writing _actionable newsletters_, these messages could be doing more harm than good.
Subscribers want to hear from you. That’s why they joined your list.
But they don’t want spam, nonsense, or anything else that wastes their time.
If you’re sending newsletters just because you haven’t contacted your subscribers in a while, it’s not an effective strategy.
Fortunately for you, I’m an expert in this space.
Whether you’ve never sent a newsletter or need help improving your current approach, I can show you how to write newsletters that convert.
It’s all about eliciting specific actions from the recipient.
Here’s what you need to know.
MAKE SURE YOU’RE EMAILING SUBSCRIBERS WHO ACTUALLY WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
People won't open your messages if they didn’t sign up for your emails.
That’s why I recommend creating a double opt-in process for new subscribers.
Take a look at how this affects your open rates:
You might have a huge list of subscribers.
But that doesn’t mean anything if they’re not reading your content.
Getting your subscribers to open your message is the first step.
That’s why you need to seed your lists with people genuinely interested in your brand.
I definitely wouldn’t recommend buying subscribers.
Only contact those people who signed up for your newsletter.
How often have you received an unwanted email from a company?
For argument’s sake, let’s pretend this message doesn’t go to your spam folder and you actually open it.
Maybe you’ll even skim through some of the content, which is even more of a stretch if you’re not a subscriber.
Are you going to follow through with whatever action they’re asking you to complete?
I doubt it.
Well, then you can’t expect recipients of your newsletter to follow your instructions if they never opted in to receive it in the first place.
Give your subscribers options when they are signing up.
Here’s a great example from HubSpot:
HubSpot lets their subscribers decide whether they want to receive messages on a daily or weekly basis.
If customers want to hear from you every day, give them what they want.
These people are more engaged with your brand and will be more likely to act in response to your newsletter.
START WITH A CLEAR GOAL IN MIND
Why are you sending a newsletter?
You should be able to answer this question for each message you send.
With coupons or promotional campaigns, this question is a little bit easier to answer.
But newsletters usually have an underlying message within the content.
Stick to _one goal per newsletter_.
Including too much information in your message will confuse the reader.
Here are some popular examples of actionable goals:
* getting downloads
* selling something
* driving traffic to a landing page
* promoting an event
* subscribers sharing content with friends or family
Here’s a great newsletter from General Assembly:
Right off the bat, it’s clear what the goal of this message is.
They are trying to promote an event in Boston, MA.
The newsletter shows the date of the event and has an option for the recipient to RSVP.
This goal is consistent throughout the entire newsletter.
General Assembly doesn’t try to promote products, get downloads, or drive traffic to their website.
Instead, they continue providing more information about the event.
It’s an effective newsletter.
The message won’t confuse the reader, and the goal is apparent throughout the entire message.
In this case, the action is clear.
They want subscribers to come to their event.
It was successful because they started with a goal.
DON’T OVERLOOK THE SUBJECT LINE
I see people make this mistake all the time.
They take their time to write awesome content for their newsletter, but then come up with a subject line in 2 seconds.
It ends up being something boring like:
* June Newsletter
* Weekly Update
* A Message From Company XYZ
Boring.
Nobody is going to open that.
As I said before when I talked about only emailing subscribers who want to hear from you, the newsletter is useless if the message doesn’t get opened.
A strong and actionable subject line is arguably more important than the content within your message.
This data shows just how important email subject lines really are:
Based on this information, your newsletter might even get marked as spam before the recipient has a chance to read it.
Come up with a subject line that generates curiosity.
Hint at a topic or question that may get answered if the message gets opened.
Including information about news or recent topics in the subject line is another great way to generate opens for your newsletter.
Make sure your timing is spot on.
Nobody wants to hear about news that broke last week.
About 40% of Americans get their news from online platforms.
If your subject line is highly relevant to something current, your subscribers will want to open it.
BE PERSONAL
Approach your newsletters the same way you approach promotional messages in terms of personalization.
Continuing with my last point, you can even use this tactic in the subject line.
In fact, personalized subject lines increase open rates by 50%.
Clearly, it’s an effective approach.
But don’t stop at the subject line.
You can personalize your newsletter by addressing the recipient by their first name.
Use the first person perspective when writing so your subscribers know exactly from whom the message is.
Your personal email address should be displayed in the sender’s field.
Always sign newsletters with your name.
It will give the message a personalized touch.
But remember, you’re trying to get the recipient to act, e.g., to click.
Recent data shows that personalized newsletters improve both click-through and conversion rates.
Another way to get more engagement through personalized content is by segmenting your email lists.
Not every recipient should get the same newsletter.
As you saw with the HubSpot example earlier, you can segment lists based on delivery frequency.
But you can take this idea one step further and segment the content as well.
For example, let’s say you have a website that sells sporting goods.
Your newsletter could cover various topics based on different sports.
When a subscriber opts in to receive your newsletter, you can have them select which sports they want to hear about.
That way, your newsletters that cover golf or swimming topics won’t get sent to someone who would rather read about snowboarding and mountain biking.
Your subscribers are much more likely to act if they’re interested in the content.
HAVE A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION (CTA)
Your CTA should align with the goal you set for your newsletter.
If you want subscribers to download something, make sure the CTA directs them accordingly.
Refer back to the example I used earlier with the General Assembly newsletter.
They were promoting an event. Their CTA was a link through which subscribers could RSVP to that event.
Here’s another great example from Litmus:
This newsletter is promoting an email checklist guide.
Rather than including the checklist within the content, they embedded a downloadable link as the CTA.
BE PROFESSIONAL
Just like everything else associated with your name and brand, your newsletters need to be professional.
It’s OK to write in a conversational tone, but I recommend staying away from slang and profanity.
In some circumstances, it could be acceptable, depending on the image of your company. But it’s definitely safer to avoid this approach.
You also need to check your newsletter for spelling and grammar mistakes and typos.
If your newsletter has lots of errors, your subscribers won’t think you care about your company.
Don’t rush through this procedure.
Have an editing process.
You can even run newsletters through an editing software like Grammarly to assist you with this.
Here’s another editing tip.
After I’m done writing something, I read it out loud.
I find it’s easier to catch mistakes or poorly written sentences when I'm speaking as opposed to reading.
Depending on who writes your newsletter, you could even have the content checked by another set of eyes before it gets sent out to your subscribers.
TELL A STORY
I’ve said before you can increase sales by mastering the art of storytelling.
Apply those storytelling skills to your newsletter.
Stories are a great marketing tactic because they are a source of entertainment.
Nobody wants to read a boring newsletter, so talk about something exciting.
Look at the positive impact storytelling has on conversion rates for B2B and B2C companies:
What kind of story should you tell?
Get creative.
You can tell your own or someone else’s story.
It all depends on your goal and the tone of your newsletter.
As I said earlier, you want your content to be relevant to your subscribers' needs or current times.
If you have some sort of breaking news to discuss, write an engaging story instead of just stating facts.
This will captivate your audience and increase the chances of eliciting the desired response from them.
CONCLUSION
Newsletters are a great way for any company to engage and connect with their customers.
For starters, make sure you’re only contacting people who want to hear from you.
But if your message doesn’t have a purpose, your recipients won't respond in a way you would like them to.
That’s why for every newsletter, set a clear goal before you start writing.
This will keep you on track so the rest of your content, including the CTA, focuses on this goal.
Nobody will read your message if they don’t open it.
Your subject line is just as important as the rest of your newsletter.
Your newsletter should be personalized based on the topic and delivery frequency.
Make sure your newsletter doesn’t have any spelling or grammar issues. It’s OK if you want to be conversational, but keep it professional.
Stories are one of my favorite ways to capture the attention of an audience.
Follow these tips, and you will increase the rate of desired responses from your newsletter subscribers.
_How often do you send newsletters to the people on your email lists?_

The customer is always right.
I’m sure you’ve heard this before as the golden rule of business.
But what this rule doesn’t encompass is the customer experience.
The saying should be:

_always put the customer first_.

You may have certain operations and practices in place to make things easy and cost-effective for your company, but how does this impact the customer journey?
If you’re saving a few bucks or some extra time at the expense of the customer experience, it’ll backfire.
Instead, everything you do needs to center around creating an optimal customer experience.
You think about your business 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. But the reality is, your customers have more important things to worry about.
Their time is valuable.
They want to give you money, but not if it’s going to take too much time out of their day.
You need to simplify your conversion processes. Start focusing on making everything as easy as possible for the customer.
These are some of the short and long-term benefits of improving the customer experience:
Here’s the thing.
You may be an expert in digital marketing tactics.
But driving customers to your business through marketing channels, like your website, social media platform, and email marketing tactics, is only half the battle.
Once you get people through your doors or to your landing page, their experience from that point on will determine how much money they'll spend at your business.
In this post, I’ll explain how you can boost your revenue by focusing on the customer experience.
OFFER MULTIPLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT OPTIONS
Put yourself in your customers' shoes for a minute.
Think about some of the reasons why they would need to contact your customer support teams.
Perhaps, they:
* had a problem
* have a question
* need help
* have a comment, suggestion, or complaint.
For the most part, these reasons tell us your customer is having a negative experience doing something.
Who knows how much time they spent trying to resolve it on their own before reaching out to a representative from your company.
It’s safe to say they could be pretty frustrated.
You need to give them lots of options to reach a customer service representative.
While receiving phone calls from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, may be the easiest and most cost-efficient solution for your company, that doesn’t work for all your customers.
This is how consumers want to reach customer support:
As you can see from the data, the answers are all over the board.
Most customers prefer phone; others like web chats or email; and some want automated responses.
Some customers don’t even care--they just want to get in touch with someone.
The process needs to be:
* quick
* friendly
* effective.
I’m sure you’ve been through this before.
You call a customer service number just to wait on hold for what seems like an eternity.
When someone finally answers the phone, you explain your situation, and they transfer you to another department.
You wait on hold again and have to re-explain everything to another person.
This is not effective.
If this sounds like your customer support process, it’s definitely hurting your bottom line.
Adding multiple support options that deliver fast service will keep your customers happy, especially if they were experiencing some frustration before they reached out.
Now you won’t have to worry about losing that customer.
MAKE SURE YOUR ENTIRE STAFF PRIORITIZE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service starts at the top of the chain.
As a business owner, you need to realize that your attitude about customer service will impact how your managers and supervisors approach the topic.
This is true even if you’re not the one who has direct contact with the customers.
Whether you’re a small local business or global chain, every member of your staff needs to understand the importance of customer service.
One bad experience with a part-time employee can deter someone from ever spending money at your company again.
Take a look at what consumers value the most when it comes to customer service:
The majority of these options involve your staff.
I realize it’s not easy to run a business.
Depending on the size of your company, you may not even know the names of every employee.
That’s why it’s important to create a company culture in which poor customer service is not tolerated.
Little things can go a long way.
If your customers have face-to-face interactions with your staff, make sure your staff are trained to smile and greet customers as they come through the door.
If your staff act like they want to be there, the customers will pick up on that energy.
But if your customer service representatives are giving off the impression they don’t care, the customer won’t be happy.
You can’t afford to lose any customers.
YOUR WEBSITE NEEDS TO HAVE CLEAN NAVIGATION
How often do you work on optimizing your website?
If you built your site when you first started your business and never touched it again, I’m willing to bet it could use some improvements.
The highest converting websites have one thing in common.
_Simplicity_.
Websites with simple designs have higher conversion rates.
Don’t overwhelm your visitors.
If you have a variety of flashing lights, buttons, menus, advertisements, and images, you confuse your site visitors.
Make sure you don’t have many long paragraphs or messy text on your website.
Your text should be large and easy to read.
Replace anything that’s messy with a couple of high quality visuals.
Visual explanations are easier for people to comprehend and retain.
Design your website so that the visitor’s eyes and attention get drawn to your CTA buttons.
For those of you with an ecommerce website, don’t try to fit 1,000 products on your home page.
Instead, focus on your top selling items or the ones with the highest margins.
In a perfect world, those products are the same.
Your navigation menu shouldn’t be complicated either.
For example, let’s say you’re selling clothing.
Don’t have options like this on your menu:
* long sleeve shirts
* sweaters
* light sweaters
* knit sweaters
* sweatshirts
* hoodless sweatshirts
* fleece sweaters
Instead, have one category: “Tops.”
Have a search menu to give people an option to look for products directly instead of using your menu.
You can offer options to refine their search based on subcategories.
When it’s easy for customers to find what they want on your website, there’s a greater chance they’ll spend money.
EACH PAGE ON YOUR SITE MUST LOAD FAST
In addition to a simple website design, your site needs to load fast.
I’m not just talking about your home page. Every page needs to be quick.
Look at how much of an impact page loading time has on conversions:
Websites that load slowly convert less. It’s that simple.
Remember what I said earlier? Your customers’ time is valuable.
If your website is crashing or not loading fast enough, people won't put up with it.
They’ll visit one of your competitors’ websites instead to find what they’re looking for.
Not sure how fast your site loads?
Use some free online tools like the Pingdom website speed test.
You can check how fast your site loads from different locations across the globe.
If your site isn’t loading fast, figure out the root of the problem.
It’s possible you might need to upgrade your existing web hosting service plan or change providers.
While this may cost you more money, it will improve the customer experience and generate more revenue in the long run.
Trust me, it’s worth it.
FOCUS ON MOBILE USERS
You need to accommodate customers using various devices to access your website and make purchases.
It’s essential your site is mobile friendly.
You could also create an app for your brand for an even more optimal user experience.
Take a look at how mobile phones are trending in terms of web traffic:
Half of the global web traffic now comes from mobile devices.
That number will only continue to rise.
While mobile phones trend up, laptop and desktop devices are trending down.
Realize this is how your customers are consuming data.
Don’t neglect your customers who like to shop and navigate online from their smartphones.
Consumers love phones because they are convenient.
Doesn’t it seem like cell phones are glued to everyone’s hands, wherever you go?
If your customer wants something, it’s easier for them to do it from their phone instead of waiting until they are in front of a computer.
You’re missing out on revenue if your site isn’t mobile optimized.
Let’s look at the impact of a mobile-friendly website on consumer buying behavior:
This is extremely important for anyone who has an ecommerce store.
But even if you’re not selling physical products online, you still need to give your customers easy access to find information about your business from their phones.
Ultimately, this will lead to higher conversion rates.
OFFER DISCOUNTS, PROMOTIONS, AND REWARDS
Everyone wants a deal.
Some luxury brands can get away with never putting anything on sale, but if you’re trying to compete with the majority of the market share, I wouldn’t recommend that strategy.
Give your customers an incentive to buy from you instead of your competition.
It’s rare for a brand to offer a product that can’t be found elsewhere.
Most likely, your competitors have similar products, and in some cases, they’re selling the exact same thing.
Customers aren’t stupid.
They’re going to do some research before they buy something.
More often than not, they’ll pick the least expensive option.
Retailers are much more likely to make a sale if they offer a discount or promotional code:
Let’s take a look at Shopify.
They are a major ecommerce brand with merchants selling different types of products.
Over the last year, 17% of all sales on their platform had a discount code in the transaction.
I’m not saying you need to give everything away.
Don’t discount in a way that will hurt your bottom line.
Alternatively, offer a rewards program to your customers: when they spend a certain amount over a period time, they get some sort of benefit.
They’ll feel satisfied after they reach a certain status level, which will keep them happy.
It'll also encourage them to spend more money.
That’s why I recommend implementing this strategy to improve the customer experience.
IMPROVE YOUR CHECKOUT PROCESS
Go through each step of your checkout process.
How many different ways can customers make a purchase?
That includes:
* from your website
* through a mobile application
* in a physical store location.
Whether you have one or more of these options, the checkout process needs to be as easy as possible.
If you have an ecommerce website, are you noticing an increase in shopping cart abandonment?
Look at the top three reasons on this list.
After extra costs, the second and third top reasons have to do with a checkout process that’s not optimized.
You shouldn’t force your customers to create an online account just to make a purchase.
Why?
It’s too long.
Imagine this. Your customer wants to buy something. They’ve made a decision about their purchase.
Don’t give them an excuse to back out.
The checkout procedure should ideally be just a few clicks.
Don’t ask for too much information. Just get the essentials.
With every additional step in your checkout process, you risk losing the sale.
Again, your customers’ time is valuable.
You’ll get higher conversions and make more money if you don’t waste their time.
CONCLUSION
You need to focus your business operations on optimizing the customer experience.
These changes may not always be the most convenient and cost-effective for your company, but they’re necessary.
Prove to your customers you value their patronage and time by making things as easy as possible for them.
When it comes to customer support, give them as many options as possible to contact a representative.
Make sure every person on your staff realizes how important their attitude is when it comes to handling customer service inquiries.
Your website should have a clean navigation, and every page needs to load fast.
Don’t forget about mobile users.
Offer discounts, rewards, and other promotions.
Simplify your checkout process to make it easy for customers to buy something without having to provide much information.
Follow these tips if you want to generate more revenue from happy customers.
_What have you changed on your website to optimize the customer experience?_

How many people are actually reading your blog posts?
It is reported 43% of readers say they skim through posts.
If you want people to consume the content you’re writing, get them hooked during the introduction.
Take a second to think about the goal of each article you publish.
Are you just trying to get page views?
I see businesses and bloggers make this mistake all the time.
They’re happy just to get page views on their blogs and don’t care whether people are reading them.
But that strategy is very inefficient.
Yes, getting people to click on your post is half the battle.
You need to take the proper steps to market it correctly and promote it through all your distribution channels.
Your blog is the perfect opportunity to promote more content associated with your website or brand and engage with your readers.
But this can’t happen if they don’t actually read it.
You could be getting even more clicks and page views by utilizing internal links throughout your post.
Maybe you can make some money by including some affiliate links as well.
Here’s something else to consider.
How long does it take you to write each post?
As you can see from the data, the average blog post takes over three hours to write.
That number is steadily on the rise, so you can expect it to take you even more time in the future.
It'd be a shame for all that hard work to get skimmed over and not read.
As an experienced blog writer and expert in this industry, I know what it takes to write successful posts.
It all starts with the introduction--literally.
I’ll show you how to write blog post introductions that capture the attention of your readers and get them to read your entire post.
START WITH A STRONG HOOK
The hook is the opening line of your introduction, and you have a few options to consider.
Your hook could be a full sentence, single word, question, or phrase.
In case you forgot, I'll remind you I got your attention in this post by starting it with a question.
After you come up with a winning opening line, you need to lead the reader into a transition.
The transition line or lines should provide some sort of clarification about the direction and content of your article.
Your content should be relatable, and the intro should reflect that.
Include a somewhat obvious statement that will get your readers to agree with you.
Speak directly to the reader. Talk about a situation they might be in that brought them to your post in the first place.
Address their problem, which you’ll eventually offer a solution to.
But keep it general--you don’t want to narrow it down too much and alienate the rest of your audience.
Here is a recent blog post I wrote about customer acquisition strategies as an example:
Let’s break this down:
Sentence A is an obvious statement the reader can agree with.
Sentence B is a transition to show what the post is going to cover.
Sentence C is addressing a problem the reader might be having.
Sentence D speaks directly to the audience.
Remember, you want to keep these points general enough to reach a wide audience but specific enough to make the reader feel you’re speaking directly to their situation.
Look back at a little trick I used in the example above.
First I said “new businesses,” but a couple of lines later, I said “companies that have been in business for a while.”
This covers all my bases and speaks to the majority of possible readers.
INCLUDE FACTS TO BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS
If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you know I like to include lots of statistics and data to back up what I’m saying.
I do this throughout my posts, but I include it in the introduction too if it fits.
Scroll back up to the top of this post to see what I mean.
Including recent data from high quality and reputable sources shows you’re credible.
The reader will know that while you may be giving your opinion or taking a certain stance on a topic, you’re at least showing facts to support it.
This sets up the rest of your blog post.
If you’ve got statistics in the introduction, the reader can assume you’ll include additional facts throughout the rest of the content (which you should).
Numbers, in general, seem to speak to people.
Before you can get someone to read your introduction, you need to get them to click on your post in the first place.
Take a look at the starting headlines of the most engaging blog posts:
Half of the top 20 headlines start with a number.
You can capture the attention of a reader with numbers in your headline, then draw them in even further with statistical information in your introduction.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT TO ADD IMAGES
As you can see, I’m a huge advocate of using pictures, graphs, infographics, and other images throughout blog posts.
It’s a great way to break up your content and make it easier for readers to skim through--a very common way for people to read blog posts.
But that doesn’t mean you need to wait until the middle of your post to start including images.
I’m not saying you need to put a picture after your opening line, but you can absolutely use photos in your introduction.
You can even add a photo to separate the title and the first line of your introduction.
Here’s an example of how I implemented this strategy on my blog.
Notice the opening lines of my introduction here as well.
It fits the criteria of hooking the reader with a question, which I discussed above.
I used an image earlier in this post. It's a visual representation of the amount of time it takes people to write a blog post, also making a point that you’re wasting time if nobody is reading it.
We just talked about the importance of using data in your introductions, which is why I used a statistical graph earlier.
Blogs with relevant images have 94% more views than posts with just text.
That number is astonishing.
It shows people want illustrations of points they are reading about.
Don’t make them wait. Give them what they want right away, and add an image to your introductions.
BE DIRECT, BUT DON’T GIVE IT ALL AWAY
There’s a certain art to this.
You don’t want to talk in circles during your introduction.
Make direct statements.
But you also don’t want to sum up your entire article either.
I’ve had bloggers tell me they write the body of their content first, then go back and sum it up in the introduction.
I don’t agree with that strategy.
Your introduction shouldn’t serve the same purpose as the executive summary of a business plan.
It should signal what the rest of the post is about to get people to read the whole thing.
Save your summary for the concluding paragraphs.
Instead, try to hint at what’s to come.
Tease the reader to pique their curiosity.
Let’s look at an example.
Here’s a snippet from the introduction of a blog post discussing whether mobile app developers should launch their apps on the Apple or Android platform first:
Look at how the author sets this up.
They do a fantastic job of stimulating curiosity.
The three underlined sentences all basically say the developer needs to decide between Apple and Android.
But right before the introduction ends, the author throws a tease, saying there is a way to launch on both platforms at the same time--without giving the answer of how to do it.
It’s implied the solution will be offered in the post, so the viewer will have to continue reading if they want to find out what to do.
You can implement the same technique in your introductions.
Bring up a topic the reader wants to learn about, saying something like “but we’ll get to that later on.”
It’s more effective than saying “this is how you do X, Y, and Z.”
Now the reader has no reason to continue because they already have all the information they came for.
PREVIEW YOUR INTRODUCTIONS WHEN YOU’RE PROMOTING THE CONTENT
Think about how you’re driving readers to your blog.
Are you sending out a link that includes only the title?
Add the beginning of your introduction to these promotions as well.
Take a look at how Conversion XL does this with their Facebook posts:
The opening lines of the introduction can entice their Facebook followers to click on the article.
It’s more effective than using the title only.
If you visit their website, they do the same thing here:
Now they’ve included even more of the introduction.
The reader has seen enough now to be intrigued to continue reading the entire article.
This strategy illustrates the points we discussed earlier: a strong opening hook, piquing curiosity.
I recommend using this method whenever you’re emailing your post to subscribers as well.
The preview text can give them that extra incentive to click on the full article and read the entire post.
WRITE A LONG INTRODUCTION, BUT NOT TOO LONG
You shouldn’t feel restricted while you’re writing an introduction.
Choose your words carefully, but don’t think your intro needs to be limited to just a few lines or a paragraph.
Write.
While the opening few lines may be the most important, you can still hook the reader with the rest of your introduction.
Talk about your personal experience, and explain what qualifies you to be an expert on a particular topic.
Nobody wants to hear about ways to start a business from scratch from someone who has never done it before.
If you’ve been part of ten successful startup companies, now is your chance to brag about it (if it’s relevant to the topic).
Your blog posts should be long.
Take a look at how the length of your post impacts social shares:
Aim for at least 2,000 words on every blog post, but try to get over 2,500 if you can.
The word count also affects your search ranking on Google’s algorithm.
You’re limiting yourself if you keep the introduction to just 50 words.
It’ll be much more difficult for you to reach the desired word count that way.
Don’t be afraid to write an introduction that’s up to 300 words, but don't ramble for 500 words.
I’d say, all your intros should be _at least_ 150 words or so.
CONCLUSION
Driving traffic to your blog is great, but it’s not enough.
To fully engage with your audience and promote more content, you should be trying to get people to read through your entire blog posts.
After all, you spend so much time and effort writing them. Why let all of that meaty content go to waste?
While it’s inevitable that people will skim through your posts, your introduction can entice them to read more.
Start off with a strong hook. Get your readers to agree with your stance on the topic.
Speak directly to them by explaining a scenario or problem they may be currently experiencing.
Use data to show your blogs are informative and credible.
You can include an image in your introduction as well.
Let readers know what the rest of the post will discuss, and hint at a solution without giving the answer.
This will stimulate their curiosity and get more people to continue reading.
Preview your introductions when you’re promoting blogs on your website, social media pages, email campaigns, or any other distribution channel.
Don’t be afraid to write a long introduction.
Follow these tips, and you’ll increase the number of people who actually read your blogs.
_What hooks do you use in an introduction to capture the attention of your readers?_

Hosting an event is a great way for businesses to gain exposure.
This holds true whether it’s a holiday or a special occasion for your customers, the community, or your industry.
You may want to promote an event even if you’re not hosting it.
For example, maybe your company will have a booth set up at a trade show or job fair.
Maybe you’re a keynote speaker at a conference or dinner event.
Your business might be a top sponsor of a charity golf tournament.
The list goes on and on.
Regardless of what kind of event you’re hosting, attending, or sponsoring, you’ll need to get people to show up if you want it to be successful.
Event planning isn’t easy.
Sometimes events take months to prepare for and require professional help.
After spending so much time, money, and preparation, it would be disheartening to see low attendance.
If you’ve been through this before, you know what I’m talking about.
While you may need some help running the event, you can get people in the doors all by yourself.
The days of hanging up flyers around town are over.
I’ll show you how to build hype and get thousands of people to attend your event by using online tactics.
SET UP A WEBSITE FOR YOUR EVENT
Rather than just having a small button on your current website promoting the event, you should build a completely new website.
Take a look at how Crawford Contractor Connection does this with their annual conference and business expo:
For starters, just look at the menu options.
They’ve got nine different menu tabs for the website visitors to choose from, all for this one event.
It’s much more effective than having one section or one page of their current website dedicated to this.
How else would you be able to fit all the information into such a small space?
An event like this will have people flying in from all over the country.
If you’re hosting something similar, you need to be as accommodating as possible toward the attendees.
Get in touch with local hotels to get rooms blocked off and offer discounted group rates.
Anyone attending would be able to find this information directly on the event website.
You can also use your website as a platform to get people registered.
Now you can collect money in advance and have a more official head count for the day of the event.
That way, you'll have a more accurate estimate of the number of attendees you'll have than you would if you were guessing how many would show up.
BLAST YOUR EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS WITH INVITATIONS
It’s best to start with the people you know.
You'll have an easier time getting them to attend an event than those unfamiliar with your brand.
Check out this email from Marketo as an example:
This virtual event was attended by over 10,000 people.
That’s right, in today’s day and age people can attend your events without having to leave their homes.
But let’s focus on the email.
It has lots of good information you can replicate in yours:
* Always make sure the date and time are clear
* Have clear CTA buttons
* Include your contact information
* Give the subscribers a reason to attend
* Add a video to your email (emails with video get 96.38% higher CTRs)
If you have any celebrities or special guests coming to speak, don’t keep it a secret.
Nobody wants to hear from a “surprise guest speaker.”
That could mean anything.
Be upfront and clear about all the information.
Since you’ll email subscribers who may be your current customers, you can provide them with more incentives to attend.

_“Register now and receive a $20 gift card and a free t-shirt.”_

Something like that should do the trick.
Just make sure they need to actually attend the event to claim their prizes.
If they get the reward instantly, they may not have any reason to show up.
USE PODCASTS TO GET THE WORD OUT
Podcasts are a great online resource to reach a large audience.
If you or your company has a podcast, you know what I’m talking about.
But even if you don’t, you can try to partner with other podcasts related to your brand and industry to build hype for your event.
People spend more time listening to podcasts than any other audio source.
That’s why it’s one of my favorite ways to promote anything online, but it’s especially helpful for an event.
Depending on your relationship with the person who runs the podcast, it’ll probably cost you some money.
But if you were to advertise with traditional marketing methods, such as print, television, or radio ads, you'd pay regardless.
So it’s worth it.
But try your best to keep these costs as low as possible.
Consider offering the person running the podcast free promotion for their brand during your event in exchange for airtime on their show to endorse it.
That keeps everyone happy and could expose your event to potentially hundreds of thousands of listeners.
COME UP WITH A UNIQUE HASHTAG FOR YOUR EVENT
When it comes to social media promotion, take full advantage of hashtags.
The right hashtag can increase the chances of your posts and event going viral.
Whether you’re using Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or all of these platforms to promote your event, make sure you include a hashtag in each post.
Here’s an example of a hashtag from the Eurobike event in Germany:
Hashtags are great because you can use them in three different phases to promote your event.
* Before the event starts
* During the event
* After it’s over
Use hashtags in every post leading up to the event.
This will help you get an initial surge of people to attend.
Include it on all your invitations and in emails as well.
Once the event starts, the hashtag doesn't have to die.
Attendees, speakers, performers, or anyone associated with your event can use this hashtag to share their experience in real time.
If your event lasts several days, these hashtags could encourage people who weren’t planning on attending to come to your event.
People can share all their photos and videos using the event hashtag as well.
Staying active on social media while using the hashtag during your event can help generate conversations about it.
Ask people what their favorite part was so far.
You can run a contest of the best picture from the event.
After the event is over, you can still keep the hashtag alive.
Attendees can continue to post photos, and you can stay engaged with these people through the hashtag.
You can even link this event to your next one.
CREATE AN EVENT ON FACEBOOK
Facebook is one of the best platforms to promote an event online because it has over 1 billion active monthly users.
If you’ve never set up an event on Facebook, don’t worry--it’s easy.
I’ll show you exactly what to do so you get it right the first time.
STEP #1: Navigate to “Events” under the “Explore” menu
On the left side of your Facebook home page, you’ll see a menu that says “Explore.”
“Events” is the first option below that tab.
Once you click it, you’ll be able to see any events you’re attending, those your friends are interested in, and nearby events.
STEP #2: Click “Create Event”
From here, you can click “Create Event” in one of two different locations on the page.
Click the button on the bottom left of the screen or at the top middle of the page to continue.
STEP #3: Set it up as a public event
Make sure your event is public.
Private events are intended for small parties or gatherings among friends, but not for businesses.
To ensure it gets exposed to as many people as possible, it’s essential you click on this setting.
Otherwise, only people whom you personally invite will have access to this page.
STEP #4: Add an event photo
Upload a photo for your event.
It can be your company logo, but I recommend including more information.
Create a customized image with your logo, the name of the event, the date, time, and any other relevant information.
This is a great spot to include the event hashtag as well, which we discussed earlier.
STEP #5: Add the basic information about the event
Your event photo may or may not include this info, but you’ll need to make it all official here for the Facebook event.
Come up with a name.
Tell people where the event will be held.
Set specific start and end times for your event.
It could last a couple of hours or a week.
Whatever you decide, this is the place where you set it up.
STEP #6: Add a description, and click “Create”
Here’s the part where you get to tell people more about your event.
What special guests are attending?
Are you serving food?
Is it family friendly?
Tell your prospective guests where they can park and how they can buy tickets.
Add lots of details here.
Don’t be vague.
Include a link to your special event website, which I talked about earlier.
Click on the “Create” button when you’re done.
That’s it. Your event is created.
Now it’s time for you to invite people to join.
Start by adding everyone who follows your brand on Facebook.
Encourage these people to invite their friends as well.
You can promote your Facebook event on other platforms too, such as Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Use your hashtag to drive users towards the Facebook page.
Even people who don’t follow your page on Facebook will be able to see your event.
The Facebook algorithm will make it appear on their newsfeeds if any of their friends are interested in attending.
REACH OUT TO YOUR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS
Instagram is another inexpensive and effective way to promote any event online.
It’s easy to post pictures here.
Plus, you’ve already got a social following there, so take advantage of it.
This works whether you’re a global company or a local business.
Check out this Instagram event promotion from Hope Gallery:
The image is very effective.
It has all the information needed to get the attention of their followers.
The post includes the date and time of the event along with the contact information and location.
They also listed the guest artists as well as businesses providing food and drinks as additional incentives.
You can also see they added an event hashtag to the post--an effective promotional method.
The picture could be used on other platforms as well.
If you’re planning to make a customized image for Instagram, it could double as your Facebook event photo.
CONCLUSION
Hosting, running, and attending an event may be complicated and costly.
However, promoting it online doesn’t have to be.
As you can see from the tactics I discussed, you can expose your event to a large audience without putting in too much effort, time, or money.
You just have to be smart and direct to get the best results.
Start by creating a website designed specifically for your event.
You can use it to provide attendees with information, get people to register, and collect payments ahead of time.
Take advantage of your current marketing distribution channels, especially your email subscriber list.
Everyone on your email list is already familiar with your brand, which increases the chances of them being interested in attending your event.
Use your podcast or other peoples’ podcasts to build hype for your event.
Come up with a clever hashtag to get exposure on social media platforms.
Create an event on Facebook, and use Instagram to promote it as well.
The more people you can get to show up, the more successful your event will be.
It all starts with how well you promote it.
If you follow these online promotional tips, you won’t have a problem getting thousands of people to attend your event.
_What other types of successful strategies have you used in the past to promote your events?_

Every business has room to improve their conversion rates.
If you’re looking for a place to start, analyzing your website is the first logical step.
While you may have done A/B testing or used some similar techniques in the past to get a surge in conversions, you can take your efforts one step further.
Look at your website through the eyes of your customer.
The key is, not everyone viewing your website has the same set of eyes.
Sure, your company has a general target market, but visitors of all ages and genders from different geographic locations will be viewing your website.
These people have different preferences.
How can you configure your site to provide the most relevant information, products, and services to each unique visitor?
You need to implement personalization methods.
If you’ve never done this before, it may sound intimidating.
While it may not be the simplest task you’ve ever completed, it’s not that difficult.
It’ll require a bit of thought and effort on your part, but the results will be worth it.
In fact, 68% of companies say personalization is a top priority.
That’s because personalized experiences can improve customer retention rates.
Furthermore, customers prefer retailers that personalize their shopping experience.
It’s no secret you’re monitoring the behavior of shoppers on your website.
Although 36% of customers don’t want to be tracked, 75% of people would still rather shop from a company that uses their information to enhance their experience.
Improving the customer experience will ultimately help you get more conversions.
I’ll show you the best ways to accomplish this.
START BY FOCUSING ON YOUR PRIMARY TARGET MARKET
We’ll eventually increase the customer personalization much further than this, but you have to start with the basics.
Your website should be designed to please your best customers.
Here’s an example to illustrate my point.
Let’s say you’re a small clothing company with a brick-and-mortar store located in Rhode Island.
You have a global ecommerce store, but 90% of your online traffic and sales come from people located in New England.
Every once in a while, you’ll get a hit from Australia, southern California, or Hawaii.
That doesn’t mean you should be heavily promoting bathing suites on your website during the winter.
This product doesn’t speak to your primary customers.
You should be pushing sweaters, winter coats, and boots instead.
Some companies have a target market specific to one gender.
Take a look at Victoria's Secret website:
All their products are for women.
That’s why their site has a pink theme and features strictly women’s apparel and accessories on the homepage.
This website wouldn’t be effective for a company that sells products for both men and women.
Once you start by designing your website with your most profitable customers and target market in mind, the rest of your personalization methods will become much easier.
ENCOURAGE VISITORS TO CREATE A CUSTOMER PROFILE
You want all your customers to shop while logged into their customer accounts.
That way, you can monitor all their shopping habits and find out what products they like the most.
When designing profile fields for them to fill out, you can also include a zip code field.
This can help you determine the best products to offer your customers based on their location and the time of year.
Not every ecommerce site has a high concentration of sales from a specific region.
Global ecommerce stores have to be able to customize the products on their sites based on the season of the region where the user is located.
Another thing to consider is your holiday season promotional campaigns.
Running a Fourth of July sale may speak to the American customer, but it doesn’t mean anything to the international consumers.
Those advertisements shouldn’t be shown to visitors from Spain or Germany.
But you have to give the customer a reason to create a customer profile.
Saying “Join now to get a more personalized shopping experience” isn’t the most enticing pitch.
Take a look at what Champs Sports offers their VIP members who create a profile:
All these exclusive benefits give the shopper a reason to create a profile.
The personalization they’ll receive is just an added bonus, but it will make it easier for you to get conversions.
GET CUSTOMERS TO ADD MORE ITEMS TO THEIR SHOPPING CARTS
Another way to personalize the customer shopping experience is to use information of your customers' orders.
Someone has been browsing your site for a while.
They’ve considered a few different products but ultimately decided to pick their favorite.
This person may have had a couple of other options in mind, but for one reason or another, they just decided to add one to their cart.
Here’s a perfect opportunity for you to upsell to this customer.
This will help you get a higher average order value as well.
Let’s take a look at an example from SAXX Underwear:
They offer free shipping on orders over $50.
A customer spending $44.95 is likely to feel they should add something else to their cart to get the free shipping benefit.
Plus, as I said before, the customer probably has something in mind they wanted to add in the first place.
These subtle tricks can get people to spend more each visit.
USE POPUPS TO GREET NEW CUSTOMERS
If someone isn’t signed into their user profile, it might be because they don’t have one.
Maybe it’s their first time visiting your website.
You can’t expect everyone to be familiar with your brand and website navigation.
To improve the learning curve and add an incentive for your customer to make a purchase, have an offer pop up on the screen.
Here’s a great example form Julep:
This method will give that extra encouragement for your site visitor to complete the conversion.
Even if they don’t make a purchase today, you’ve got their email address added to your subscriber list.
Now you can contact them via email and use additional personalization methods through that marketing channel, which we’ll discuss shortly.
Popups have an average conversion rate of 3.09%.
While that number may sound small, think about your daily website traffic.
For every 10,000 visitors you get, you’ll get 300 more conversions than you would have without the popups.
And that’s if you have average rates.
I’ve seen some companies with significantly higher conversion rates.
Multiply those additional conversions by your average order rate to find out how much more revenue you could be getting.
Plus, it’s not like it’s going to cost you anything extra to implement this strategy.
So it’s well worth it.
REWARD CUSTOMER LOYALTY
You want to make sure your best customers feel special.
If they are spending lots of money, you should reward them for this.
Why should everyone get the same discounts if one person spends $100 each year and the other person spends $500?
Take a look at this rewards program offered by Footlocker:
In order to receive the best benefits, customers need to spend $300 within 12 months.
Now you’ll get people to spend more money per each transaction so they can reach their reward status faster.
This will get you more money and keep your customers happy at the same time.
It’s a win-win.
That’s why tracking your customers’ unique spending habits is a personalization method I highly recommend.
Reward people for spending money, and it will encourage them to spend more.
RECOMMEND PRODUCTS TO WEBSITE VISITORS BASED ON THEIR BROWSING BEHAVIOR
When someone is browsing on your website, you need to figure out what they’re looking for.
This is essential for ecommerce companies that have a wide range of products.
According to Barilliance, 31% of the money generated by ecommerce sites was based on product recommendations.
Furthermore, users who click on a suggested product convert 5.5% more frequently than those viewing other products.
Earlier we saw that the majority of customers prefer to shop at retailers offering personalized shopping experience, and this data reinforces that even more.
So you need to narrow down the products offered on your site by category.
We’ll use clothing as an example.
* Tops
* Bottoms
* Shoes
* Accessories
Those would be reasonable categories to segment your products by.
The type of content viewed is the top method that websites use to personalize the user experience.
Amazon uses this technique on their website all the time:
I saw these results when I was browsing for a Wi-Fi extender on their website.
They recommend these items because other customers bought them after purchasing the specific product I was looking it.
Using this method is also a form of social proof.
The idea is that if other people performed a certain action, then I should too, right?
Well, that’s how the customer’s mind works.
Here’s another way Amazon cross-sells to their customers with recommendations:
What goes well with a Wi-Fi extender?
A wireless router makes sense.
If someone needs an extender, it’s a sign they are probably having some problems with their existing Internet connection.
So maybe they need a new router as well.
Apply this same concept to your ecommerce site.
If a customer is browsing for winter hats and gloves, you could recommend a scarf or ski mask to go with it.
CONTINUE USING PERSONALIZATION ON OTHER CHANNELS
Some of the tactics we discussed involved collecting user information.
There’s a good chance you’re able to get some email addresses added to your subscriber list based on these personalization techniques.
Well, now’s your chance to continue to market to these customers with personalization through other marketing campaigns--outside your website.
You can apply these same strategies to your email marketing campaigns.
Marketing experts agree that personalization improves their email marketing content.
Don’t limit yourself to only personalizing your website.
When you’re sending an email, use the recipient’s first name in the message to get their attention.
Use relevant content and promotional offers based on their shopping habits, demographics, and physical location to get higher conversions.
CONCLUSION
If you’re trying to improve the conversion rates on your website, focus on enhancing the customer experience.
One of the best ways to do this is by implementing personalization tactics.
Start by focusing your efforts on your primary target market.
Then, encourage your customers to create a unique user profile.
The information they provide you with when creating the profile will give you additional insight into their shopping habits.
But you need to give them a reason to join, so make sure to offer some kind of promotional discount or another incentive.
Try to get your customers to add more to their shopping carts by enticing them with something relevant to their current order.
Recommend other products based on what they are browsing for.
Create a customer loyalty program, and monitor how much money each customer spends. Reward the customers who spend the most.
All of these personalization techniques will help you increase your conversion rates, but that doesn’t mean you should limit this to your website alone.
Use personalization methods in other marketing channels such as your email campaigns.
_What tactics have you implemented to improve the personalization of your website for your customers?_

Staying active on social media is absolutely necessary if you want your business to be successful.
This statement holds true for small, local mom-and-pop stores as well as national chains and global ecommerce sites.
Even if you’re not selling a tangible product and just run a blog or something similar, you need to have a social media presence.
But having social media profiles and properly _managing_ them are two different things.
Did you know about 80% of social media browsing takes place on mobile devices?
That’s one of the reasons why you need to focus on your Instagram strategy.
Plus, look at the rapid growth it’s had over the last several years:
The popularity of this platform can’t be ignored.
Businesses are recognizing this trend and acting accordingly.
In fact, over 70% of companies in the United States had an Instagram profile in 2017.
That number has skyrocketed from 48.8% in 2016.
If you are one of these businesses, I’m sure you’re taking advantage of everything Instagram has to offer.
You post photos daily.
You’re always adding videos to your story.
You may even go live once in a while too.
But how are these actions engaging your followers?
Taking and posting the perfect picture can grab someone’s attention, but your captions will give them a sense of direction.
It’s important you write _actionable Instagram captions_.
If you need help writing your captions, you’ve come to the right place.
I’ll tell you everything you need to know about writing captions that drive engagement.
LET EVERYONE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE WITH LOCATION TAGS
I'll start by telling you something that _does not_ need to be in your caption.
When it comes to the location of the photos, do tell your followers where the photo was taken.
But here’s the catch: you don’t need to put that in your caption.
That’s a waste of valuable space.
I see people make this mistake all the time.
Instead, tag the location of the photo.
Here’s an example.
Rather than saying, “Here we are at the United Center,” the Jordan brand geo-tags the location of the photo instead.
Now they can put other information in their caption.
They used this post to promote a new product launch.
But that message could have been lost in the shuffle if they wrote their location in the caption.
Another reason why you should tag the location is because it will appear with all the other photos and videos tagged at that location.
The posts with the most likes and comments will show up as “Top Posts” on that location’s page.
It’s a great way for people who might not follow you to see your posts as well.
If the Jordan brand included their location in a caption, it wouldn’t be exposed to such a wide audience.
Plus, location tagging drives engagement, which is our ultimate goal.
Keep your location out of the caption, and tag it instead.
That’s a much better engagement strategy.
DON’T WRITE THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO YOUR MIND
You took 20 different pictures of the same subject from different angles and with different lighting.
Then you spent time finding the best one, adding a filter or two, changing the exposure, brightness, and saturation, and playing around with all the other editing tools.
But then you write your caption in 10 seconds because you want to post it right away.
That’s a mistake.
You should take just as long, if not longer, to write your Instagram caption for that photo.
Think about all the other written content you’re putting out on the Internet, like your blog, for example.
You write a draft and then you edit it.
Maybe you edit it a second or even a third time before adding the post to your website.
Apply that same concept to your Instagram captions.
_Write drafts--_and several of them.
Take your time. The photo isn’t going anywhere and neither are your followers.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you should take all week or a month to write these couple of lines of text.
But you need to put some thought into it. Concentrate on your captions as much as you focus on taking the photo and editing it.
Writing drafts can also help you make sure you don’t have spelling errors or make any other blunders.
While Instagram allows you to edit your caption after it’s posted, by the time you realize there is a mistake, thousands of followers could have already seen it.
Those are careless mistakes.
You don’t want people to think you don't care.
PUT THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION FIRST
If you’re writing a longer caption, don’t be clever trying to ease into it with a creative introduction.
Instead, lead with your most important message.
Be direct.
Instagram allows you to have 2200 characters in your caption, but that doesn’t mean your followers will see it all. Well, at least not right away.
Longer captions get cut off.
The example above shows the caption before and after the user hits “more.”
And this caption isn’t even that long.
While in general, I think shorter captions are more effective, I don’t want to discourage you from writing longer ones.
Just make sure your most important content isn’t at the end.
Not everyone will click on the “more” button to see the whole thing.
Keep in mind, users are just scrolling down their newsfeeds glancing at photos.
They probably don’t care enough about your caption to read the whole thing.
So at least try to hook them in with the first couple of lines to give them a reason to keep reading.
FIND WAYS TO ENCOURAGE COMMENTS
You want each post to have lots of engagement.
One of the ways to do this is by getting people to comment on your pictures.
Users can talk in the comments with each other or reply directly to you.
Another way to get more comments is by replying to users and driving a discussion.
For this method to be successful, however, you have to get people talking in the first place.
End your caption with a question to invite comments from your followers.
If you don’t ask them something, they may not have a reason to write anything.
Another way to get comments is by encouraging your followers to tag their friends in photos.
Here’s an example from MVMT Watches:
This post received nearly 900 comments in less than five days.
Clearly, this is an effective strategy.
DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE
If you have an ecommerce store, the ultimate goal of your Instagram page should be to get more sales from your followers.
To get people to make a purchase, you have to get them to your website first since purchases can’t be made directly from the Instagram platform.
You should also be tracking where your website traffic is coming from.
Create a unique URL with a tracking code to see the number of referrals from your Instagram page.
That will help you gauge how successful this strategy is.
It’s always important to measure results, so establish a benchmark to improve upon.
Add that unique link to your Instagram bio.
Then, you can use your caption to refer your followers to the link.
Here’s an example from H&M to show you what I’m talking about:
This photo shows some specific clothing items they’re selling.
If people are interested in buying one of these items, they can click on a link in the bio that brings them directly to the item.
That way they don't have to key in the website URL first and then search for the item.
It’s too many steps that can turn them away and reduce the chances of a sale.
Here’s what that link looks like in the H&M bio:
This makes it really easy for customers to shop, leading to more sales.
RUN A CONTEST
Nothing gets people excited like the opportunity to get something free.
You can use contests as a way to promote your brand on Instagram.
This strategy will definitely drive engagement if you can write a great caption.
First, let's review the three different types of giveaways:
* contest
* sweepstakes
* lottery
When the participants have to do something that requires some sort of effort or skill to win a prize, it’s considered a contest. The winner is determined by judges or a vote.
If you’re selecting a winner at random, it’s called a sweepstakes.
A lottery would mean that people would have to buy a raffle ticket or something like that to enter.
But I wouldn’t recommend doing this, especially because certain state and federal laws prohibit these types of giveaways.
Your best bet is running a contest. That’s one of my favorite ways to keep your followers engaged.
Their effort will determine whether they win or not.
Here’s a great example of a strong caption promoting a contest run by Starbucks:
It’s a successful campaign strategy because it encourages user-generated content.
Here’s how it works.
Starbucks invites their customers to design a cup.
Then the customers have to post a picture of their cups on Instagram with the hashtag #WhiteCupContest.
Think about your brand and your current contest.
If you own a coffee shop, there are only so many pictures of coffee and pastries you can post.
Your followers will get bored with that real quick.
That’s why your captions have to be engaging.
Try running a contest the next time you post a picture on Instagram.
Here’s a contest example from Mint:
You can use this caption as a template for your own contest, using your own information: name, hashtag, prize, and deadline.
USE HASHTAGS
We’ve discussed hashtags a few times already, but they are important enough to mention on their own.
You want to include hashtags in your captions.
For the same reason, we tagged location.
Your post will appear on a page with all the other images with the same hashtag.
You’ll expose your brand to a wider audience.
I’d recommend putting hashtags at the end of your caption.
As we saw earlier, long captions can get cut off.
But your hashtag doesn’t have to be visible to be effective.
It will group your picture with all the other posts with that hashtag.
If you’re not sure which hashtag to use, start typing and Instagram will suggest the most popular ones.
Pick the one with the most posts.
This will give you the greatest user engagement.
While you want to include hashtags, use them sparingly.
Going overboard with them could look like spam, and it’s not appealing to your followers.
Make sure your hashtags are relevant.
Don’t just use trending hashtags as a way to get exposure if they have nothing to do with your post or brand.
Again, this will make people think you’re spamming them, which is counterproductive to your engagement strategy.
CONCLUSION
Don’t overlook the importance of writing a good Instagram caption.
You spend lots of time selecting and editing a photo. Make sure you’re putting just as much effort into the caption.
Write several drafts before deciding on the best.
While you want to let users know where you are, that doesn’t mean it should be part of your caption. It’s a waste of space. Use location tagging instead.
Long captions will get cut off, so write the most important information at the beginning.
Encourage user comments by asking a question or telling your followers to tag their friends.
Drive traffic to your website through a link in your bio. Mention the link in your captions.
This will help you get more sales if you have an ecommerce site.
Promote a contest or giveaway in your captions too.
Add hashtags as well, but use them sparingly.
If you follow these tips, you’ll get more engagement on all your Instagram posts.
_Which caption strategy has been the most successful for your company’s Instagram profile?_

Customers are the lifeline and driving force of your business.
Without them, you wouldn’t exist.
That’s why you need to spend the time and use various resources to develop a better understanding of your customers' thinking.
The idea is to put yourself in your customers' shoes--their minds, really.
You want to figure out their perception of your company.
Creating an accurate customer persona can help you accomplish this.
It will help you learn about their habits, behaviors, and interests.
That way, you’ll be able to market to them accordingly.
Customer personas can help you get more money from your existing customers and even help you acquire new customers.
You’ll be able to keep your customers engaged.
Ultimately, this will improve conversion rates.
If you’ve never created a customer persona before, it can sound a little intimidating.
Don’t worry--it’s not as difficult as you might think.
I’ve created the ultimate guide for developing customer personas that can help you improve your conversion rates in a dramatic way.
Here’s what you need to know.
CUSTOMER PERSONAS ARE NOT THE SAME AS A TARGET MARKET
One of the first steps to starting a business involves identifying your target market.
This should be done before you officially launch to make sure people will be interested in your brand, products, or services.
But target markets are not the same thing as your customer personas although they will have some similarities.
Here’s an example of what it takes to identify your target audience:
This is a logical place to start, especially if you’re a new business.
Even if your company has been operating for quite some time, it doesn’t hurt to go back to the drawing board.
Re-evaluate your target market if you’re struggling with conversions.
You need to have a firm grasp of this topic before you can develop a customer persona.
Demographics are a key component of your target market.
I’m talking about factors like:
* geographic location
* age
* sex
* religion
* marital status
* income
All of these play a role in determining your company's target audience.
But your customer persona is going to break that down even further.
While your target audience encompasses the elements that show what different groups of people have in common, the customer persona looks for differentiating factors.
What makes each person within a certain demographic unique?
Just because two people of the same gender and same age live in a specific city doesn’t mean they have similar interests.
One may be the perfect customer for your company, while the other would be a waste of time and money to focus your marketing efforts on.
RELATE THE CUSTOMER PERSONA TO YOUR BRAND
Ultimately, you want this marketing profile to be related to your company.
For example, if your company sells cars and you don’t have any information that relates to the customer’s driving needs, you’re approaching this the wrong way.
You have to ask yourself,

_“Who wants and needs the product I’m selling?”_

To illustrate my point, here’s a perfect example of someone who needs to buy an SUV:
There’s a ton of information on this marketing profile such as the customer’s name, age, and race.
You also learn he has two kids and enjoys playing hockey.
These factors impact his need for an SUV.
Since Kyle has children, he can’t buy a coupe. Plus, safety is important to a family man.
Since SUVs are larger, he might feel safer driving his kids in a full-size vehicle.
The fact that he plays hockey means he needs room in his car for big, heavy, and bulky equipment, so an SUV makes the most sense.
But now I want you to notice the specific information I emphasized in this customer persona.
These points are related directly to what Kyle is looking for when he’s shopping for a vehicle.
You want to make this information as specific as possible.
This is what differentiates one customer from another.
It shows the number of miles he drives to work each day, which is why fuel economy is important to him.
The profile also includes some recreational activities he uses his car for such as family vacations, coaching, and driving his kids to and from their sporting events.
Can you see how this persona can be drastically different from that of another 42-year-old male who lives in the same area but doesn't use his car for any outdoor activities?
The key here is you always need to relate the persona back to what you’re selling. Otherwise, the information won’t be as helpful.
START WITH THE BASICS, AND BE SPECIFIC
The first step to developing a persona should be the person’s name and age.
Refer to your target market for this.
Let’s say your brand appeals to men in their early 40s. If he’s 42 years old in 2017, that would mean he was born in 1975.
These are the top 15 baby names from that year in the United States:
Based on this information, we can refer to this customer persona as Michael.
Next, determine where he lives.
While geographic location such as state, city, or region from your target market is a good start, you want to break this down even further.
Does Michael own property or does he pay rent?
If he’s a homeowner, is he in a condo complex or a single family home?
Does he rent an apartment or a house?
What are his monthly mortgage or rent payments?
Notice that we started with some broad facts but slowly came to more specific information.
That’s how you need to approach this.
From here, you can begin to come up with more information about Michael’s personality based on his living situation.
For example, you could say he owns his house because he’s raising a family and doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
Alternatively, you could write that Michael pays rent because he’s single and doesn’t want to commit to one area for long periods of time.
Just make sure you’re relating this persona back to your brand.
Let’s say your brand sells expensive furniture. You wouldn’t be marketing to a renter who moves to a new city every year or so.
You’d focus on the man who owns his home and plans to live there for the next 30 years.
INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR CAREER AND INCOME
Assuming your customer has a full-time job, their career is an important part of who they are.
They’re spending at least 40 hours a week at this job, so it’s a huge part of their life.
Think about how much of your schedule revolves around your profession. I’m willing to bet it factors into many of your decisions.
Here’s another example that includes this information:
Look at how much detailed information about his career this customer persona has.
They even related his top objectives and biggest fears to his job.
All of this is important for creating an accurate marketing profile.
Furthermore, while a person’s job may impact their happiness, schedule, and mindset, it also is directly related to their spending habits.
That’s essential to your goal of improving your conversion rates.
The more money someone makes, the more money they spend.
Take a look at the differences in average annual spending for high- and low-income homes:
Higher income homes spend more money annually in every category on this list.
In some instances, the differences in the amounts are drastic.
When you’re developing a customer persona, make sure the hypothetical person you’re creating can afford your product.
Here’s an example.
Let’s say they make $45,000 per year after taxes.
They spend $14,000 annually on housing and $7,000 on transportation.
The essentials, such as their insurance and food, cost $12,000 in total.
This leaves them with an extra $1,000 per month of disposable income to spend on everything else.
Can they really afford the $450 pair of headphones your company is selling?
Probably not.
In this case, you’ll need to develop a customer persona with a higher paying job.
FIND OUT HOW THEIR INTERESTS AND BEHAVIORS IMPACT THEIR CONSUMPTION HABITS
This part is going to help you reach your customers when it comes to your marketing efforts, which we’ll discuss shortly.
For example, what do they use to determine the credibility of a company?
Refer back to the first customer persona we analyzed earlier: Kyle, the prospective SUV buyer.
He actively uses social media but doesn’t post anything.
Instead, he uses it as a research tool to read reviews.
You’ll also want to include information about their hobbies, likes, and dislikes.
What is this person good at?
Are there certain things they can’t do?
For example, depending on your industry, it might be valuable to know whether or not this person can cook or whether they tend to eat out.
If they eat out, you can also assume they don’t have as much of a disposable income since they are spending more money on food even if they have a higher salary.
How does this person buy their products?
Are they an impulse buyer? Or do they take time to research their options and compare different brands?
Use this information to improve your marketing content.
APPLY YOUR CUSTOMER PERSONAS TO YOUR MARKETING STRATEGIES
Now that you’ve developed an accurate and detailed customer persona, it’s time for you to use it to improve your conversion rates.
Let’s say you are getting plenty of traffic to a particular landing page, but not many visitors follow through with your call-to-action.
You may want to re-evaluate the source of that landing page and the message that entices customers to convert based on the persona.
For example, your customer persona may be a 20-year-old female who goes to college in New York City and has a part-time job paying $20,000 per year.
Based on this persona, it’s safe to say she has an active Facebook profile.
You should be trying to improve your marketing efforts so that she gets brought to your landing page through some kind of Facebook campaign.
Now let’s get to her buying behavior, which we just discussed.
If she’s an impulse buyer, you can use scarcity tactics to get her to make a purchase:
* Sale ends tomorrow
* Only three tickets left at this price
* Sign up before midnight and get 25% off your first purchase
Marketing campaigns like this can get her to buy something.
CONCLUSION
Customer personas are not the same as a target market--although you need to have a clear target audience to help you come up with an accurate persona.
The persona will include much more detail about your customer.
That’s because two people with similar demographics aren’t necessarily going to shop the same way. You want to focus your efforts on the ones who fit your persona.
Your customer persona needs to be relevant to your brand and whatever you’re selling.
Start with basic information like their name and age.
Then get more specific with their job, income, location, and living situation.
Find out how their interests, hobbies, lifestyle, and personal life impact their buying behavior.
Use this information to improve your current marketing campaigns.
Now you can target people based on specific factors to improve your conversion rates.
Don’t stop after your first customer persona.
Make as many as possible so you can come up with different ways to appeal to specific types of customers.
_What information will you include in your customer personas to increase conversions on your website?_